The Dragon of Lonely Island [Hardcover]

Rebecca Rupp (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Dragon of Lonely Island

A beguiling fantasy about the vacation of a lifetime.

Hannah, Zachary, and Sarah Emily are spending the summer at their Great Aunt Mehitabel's house on faraway Lonely Island. There, in a cave hidden high above the ocean, they discover a fabulous creature: a glittering three-headed dragon with a kind heart, an unpredictable temper, and a memory that spans 20,000 years. Transported by the magic of the dragon's stories, the children meet Mei-lan, a young girl in ancient China who is called upon to save her village from great danger. They sail the seas in a 19-century ship with cabin boy Jamie Prichett. And, in more recent times, with Hitty and her brother Will, they survive a frightening plane crash on a desert island. In a novel as mysterious and spellbinding as the dragon's stories, Rebecca Rupp explore what three children from the present learn from the past—and from an unlikely, but wise and generous friend.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drawing upon standard adventure-fantasy conventions?an isolated island, a secret room, a mysterious key?first-time novelist Rupp crafts a series of genial if not altogether original stories-within-a-story. Hannah (12), Zachary (10) and Sarah Emily (eight and a half) travel with their mystery-writing mother to Great-great-aunt Mehitabel's house on an island off the coast of Maine for a summer getaway. Their dashing old aunt isn't there, but the three discover an even more fantastic character?a tridrake (three-headed dragon) living hidden in a cave. Each of the three heads awakens to tell a story about a child that befriended it in the past. Their stories teach the siblings needed lessons: Hannah comes to accept the responsibilities that come with being eldest by hearing about the travails of underappreciated Mei-lan in ancient China; Zachary learns the value of sharing through the tale of a 19th-century London orphan captured by pirates; and meek Sarah Emily finds gumption after discovering that the once timid Hitty, who learns self-reliance after she, her brother and their father crash-land during an attempt to fly around the world, is in fact Mehitabel. None of the stories is particularly memorable (especially not Mei-lan's, which draws upon one too many hackneyed folktale stereotypes), and the narrative frame, which strives for a classic timelessness, can feel overly tame or quaint. A modest diversion for middle-grade fantasy fans. Ages 8-11.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Because their mother needs a quiet place to finish her novel, the three Davis children find themselves spending the summer in a Victorian house on a small island off the coast of Maine. A mysterious letter from their elderly Great Aunt Mehitabel, absentee owner of Lonely Island, helps the siblings discover Fafnyr Goldenwings, a three-headed dragon that sleeps deep inside a cave on Drake's Hill. It can be prickly and fussy, but takes pains not to frighten the children, assuring them at once that it is a vegetarian. Over the course of the summer, each head awakes in turn and tells a story about children that the dragon had helped. It drove away invading Mongols from a Chinese girl's village, saved an orphaned boy from the clutches of evil pirates, and rescued a brother and sister marooned on a desert island-but only after the siblings learned to think for themselves. The children learn that the sister in the last story was actually a young Aunt Mehitabel, who offered the dragon a sanctuary on Lonely Island. The Chinese story has the tone of European tales of exotic Cathay and the other two are reminiscent of earlier children's books, when adventures were more jolly than harrowing. This smoothly written confection may be a tad bland and predictable, but it goes down as easily as an entertaining, light read.
Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1st edition (October 7, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763604089
• ISBN-13: 978-0763604080
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #804,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rebecca Rupp has written nonfiction articles for many national magazines on topics ranging from the history of blue jeans to the science of ice cream. She is also the author of THE DRAGON OF LONELY ISLAND, THE WATERSTONE, and several nonfiction books, both for children and adults. Of THE RETURN OF THE DRAGON, she says, 'I hope all of you enjoy the return of Fafnyr's cave - and hearing from Aunt Mehitabel again - as much as I have. Much as I love the three-headed dragon, I also love Aunt Mehitabel. I plan to be just like her when I turn eighty-five.' Rebecca Rupp lives in Vermont with her husband, three sons, three cats, and a tarantula named Immanuel Kant.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magical secret three-headed dragon and three children ., April 26, 2001

By 

Thomas H. Williams (Huntington Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dragon of Lonely Island (Hardcover)

Hannah, Zachary, and little Sarah Emily have to spend the summer on their Aunt's island while their mother is writing a book. Aunt Mehitabel sends them a little old-fashioned, curlicued-handled key to unlock the Tower Room at the top of the house. They find a beautiful wooden box whose lid is really an intricate puzzle. Hidden inside is a special clue about the island.

Using the map, they find the tridrake, a three-headed dragon, in the cave at the top of Drake's Hill. Fafnyr Goldenwings has a special story to tell each of them, but they must promise to keep Fafnyr a secret.

A wonderful whiff of the magic of long, endless summers when there was time to dream and explore.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A timeless tale: children and dragons learn from eachother, January 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dragon of Lonely Island (Hardcover)

This new book is written in that wonderfully timeless style that lets you believed you MUST have loved it as a child. Three children discover a three headed dragon when they vacation on a small island owned by their great aunt. The dragons heads each tell a tale in which other children learned - or taught - life lessons. The children in this tale, as well as those in the stories within it, develop special Friendships with this "Tri-Drake." Though there are morals to the tales (don't take what isn't yours; use your head; trust your own wisdom; help others when you can), you don't notice them as you read, and your kids will absorb them unwittingly.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, September 20, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Dragon of Lonely Island (Hardcover)

This is a book about about a three kids that go to thir aunt's castle and they go into the tower room and find a box that has a map and a dragon scale and they meet a dragon named Fafnyr Goldenwings and the dragon is three headed, each head tells a story to tell and each story has a lesson. Every single person that reads this review should get this book. It is wonderful, and enjoying, exciting and the best book that I ever read!