The Dragon of Doom (Moongobble and Me) [Hardcover]

Bruce Coville (Author), Katherine Coville (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Moongobble and Me

Edward is bored with life in the little town of Pigbone. Then Moongobble the Magician and his faithful toad, Urk, move into the cottage on the hill.

Soon Edward has a job helping Moongobble. And Moongobble needs a lot of help because it turns out, he is not a very good magician. (His spells keep turning things into cheese!)

Edward has never been so busy -- or so happy. But then someone threatens to stop Moongobble from ever casting another spell. Edward can't let that happen. He'll do anything to save his friend's magic -- even face the deadly, dreaded Dragon of Doom!

Funny and suspenseful, spiced with Bruce Coville's special brand of wackiness and Katherine Coville's warm, witty illustrations, this book is sure to cast a spell of delight on beginning readers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-The first in a new trilogy, this book combines humor, adventure, and fantasy. Nothing much happens in the town of Pigbone-until a magician and his talking toad move into the abandoned cottage on the hill. When young Edward becomes Moongobble's helper, he soon discovers that the former shoemaker is not very good at his new profession, a situation that results in many comical moments. In fact, the Society of Magicians threatens to cast Moongobble out unless he proves his worth by facing the Dragon of Doom. When all of his spells fail, Edward finds himself confronting the creature on his own. The ending is not entirely resolved, leaving the door open for the next installment. The story is fast paced, and cliff-hanger endings will keep youngsters turning the pages. The whimsical black-and-white illustrations add to the action. Purchase this title for those fans of Harry Potter who need something easier, shorter, and less complicated to read on their own.
Kristina Aaronson, Henniker Community School, NH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"The story is fast paced, and cliff-hanger endings will keep youngsters turning the pages....Purchase this title for those fans of Harry Potter who need something easier, shorter, and less complicated to read on their own."

-- School Library Journal --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 2003 First Edition edition (December 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689857543
• ISBN-13: 978-0689857546
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,552,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bruce Coville was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1950. His family lived in farm territory, about twenty miles north of Syracuse. Bruce grew up around the corner from his grandparents' dairy farm, where he spent a great deal of time as a child, dodging cows and chores to the best of his ability. As a young reader he loved Mary Poppins and Dr. Dolittle, and still has fond memories of rising ahead of the rest of his family so he could huddle in a chair and read THE VOYAGES OF DR. DOLITTLE. He also read lots of things that people consider junk (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and zillions of comic books). His only real regret is the time he spent watching television, when he could have been reading instead. (A mind is a terrible thing to waste!)

His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.

Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)

Bruce has published nearly 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for younger kids, November 29, 2004

By 

Matthew T. Carpenter (Peoria, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dragon of Doom (Moongobble and Me) (Hardcover)

I read extensively at night to my 5 and 6 year old boys. There is a trend for kids' book series to have small handsome volumes with clever illustration, like Spiderwick and Lemony Snicket. I had to edit out some disagreeable words in Spiderwick, and have decided to forego the Series of Unfortunate Events until they are older. And some of Bruce Coville's books like the Magic Shop series don't really make comfortable reading for very young kids. This is what makes Moongobble such a joy. Following the example of Spiderwick these are nifty little hardback volumes filled with winning illustrations. The stories are aimed at younger readers and my boys (beginning readers both) like to flip through the books themselves. In The Dragon of Doom, my boys really got a kick out of Moongobble accidentally turning everything into cheese. They also liked the talking toad.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dragon of Doom, July 26, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Dragon of Doom (Moongobble and Me) (Hardcover)

I'm going into 4th grade.
This book is really good because it's about a wizard who try's to become part of this important wizard group called the society of Magicians with the help of 3 friends I can't wait until the second book comes out.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Really Good Book, May 20, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dragon of Doom (Moongobble and Me) (Hardcover)

I just got this book from the library and when I got home I read it straight through. Although it is short, it is very well written, and the plot held my interest. The characters are very well potrayed, and I can't wait for the 2nd book to come out!