Between a Roc and a Hard Place

by Danny Birt, Danny Birt

When humans kill Wimsaalwn, the dragon, her unhatched egg is left in a secluded nest over a hot springs, nestled in with several other eggs. The new parents, a pair of giant Rocs are surprised and baffled by the appearance of their new, adopted daughter, who fails to develop any feathers at all. But things really get interesting when the hatchlings grow older and Tephra suddenly discovers that she's a dragon herself, not a giant bird at all. This heart-warming fantasy tale by Danny Birt explores just what it means to be a a real family.

Genres: Dragons

88 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Danny Birt is an author, composer, music therapist, and massage therapist. He currently lives in Winchester, VA."

Reviews

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a copy of this book through Librarything's Early Reviewer program. It was a fun and cute little book. Aimed at middle grader readers or younger children; it has cute illustrations, delivers a good message, and is fun.

When a mother dragon is hunted down by humans she is able to save one of her eggs; before she dies she places it a Roc's nest. The Roc parents (like giant eagles) are puzzled by the appearance of another egg in their nest but raise the little dragon girl as one of there own and name her Tephra. As Tephra gets older things get interesting and she discovers she is not at bird at all but a dragon. Tephra uses her unique position to get the animals to work together and defend their mountain region from human invasion.

This is a super cute book. There are nicely done illustrations throughout the story. Quite a bit of time passes between each chapter so we get to see Tephra at various points throughout her life. Some of the book is pretty funny as Tephra discovers she is not a bird at all but a dragon.

There are a lot of good messages her that focus on acceptance, love in a family, and working together with people who are different to achieve a peaceful goal. Tephra often reflects on the fact that things that seemed horrible when they happened actually turned out okay in the end. It is nice to see that Tephra takes a positive attitude and tries the make the best out her circumstances.

Overall this was a great book. It would be good for middle grade or younger children; teens and adults will find it a bit simplistic and possibly a bit too short for a completely satisfying read. I will be keeping an eye on Birt to see what other children's books he writes in the future. For the short length, this story packs a lot of story and a lot of goodness.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has so much potential, but it needs a little more work. The ending came on a little too quickly, and was not up to par with the rest of the story. I also thought the male dragon, B Fwial, was a little lame and superficial in not agreeing to be Tephra s mate until he saw what she really looked like. In his words So I want to see you. The real you . He already expressed admiration of her personality and intelligence, wasn t that the real Tephra? Was she beautiful or ugly, he wanted to know, and would not agree to be her mate until he found out. You will have to read the story to discover what he found out.[return][return]The illustrations were magnificent. I especially enjoyed the one with the dragon, the king, and the parrot, which was a terrific choice of graphic for that chapter. Overall I did enjoy this story and hope the author writes more, but takes more time in giving the ending of the story the same amount of depth as the beginning.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humans have been tracking one of the last living dragons near their community. In an effort to save some of her newly laid eggs, the dragon gathers two in her arms and flies away. The hunters wound her and she is only able to save one egg by leaving it in a warm nest. That is how Tephra is born into a large family of Roc birds. [return][return]This was a nice little story about being different, what it means to be family, and finding your niche. There are nice illustrations scattered through out the book that will appeal to young readers. This will probably be a good choice for kids who are expanding their reading level to small chapter books, especially if they enjoy fantasy stories. More developed readers may find the story a little too basic for their liking.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book to read to my son. Tephra is a dragon that has found herself raised by Rocs after her mother dropped her in a roc nest to save her from dying at the hands of humans. The story follows her time there as well as setting out into the world to make peace between dragons and humans.

The story is good, but it hard to label it. Somtimes it feels like young adult type writing, other times as if written for adults. I like the messages conveyed in the book. It touches the topics on being accepted even when you're different, and equality. The end does seem to drag a little.

Otherwise, this was a wonderful tale, one I am glad to have shared with my child.

[Tara A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty quick read. I liked the combination of it having a reptiles vs. bird history and folklore, and that it wrapped itself up so tightly in such a small tale. It's written quite whimsically in parts, but I liked it much more than I originally thought I would. The character naming schemes are interesting. Like the main characters name I didn't understand immediately, but when she explains it later it once again fits into the overall narrative of the tale.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little book. At times it was hard to tell if it was meant for adults or YA, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. The author had some interesting takes on naming conventions that I found amusing and it was very interesting seeing the story from the perspective of the dragon, something you don't see too often in fiction, which is generally human-protagonist dominant. The internal mythbuilding as it relates to the book was comfortable and inventive.