The Dragons of Ordinary Farm [Hardcover]

Tad Williams (Author), Deborah Beale (Author), Greg Swearingen (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Tyler and Lucinda have to spend summer vacation with their ancient uncle Gideon, a farmer. They think they're in for six weeks of cows, sheep, horses, and pigs. But when they arrive in deserted Standard Valley, California, they discover that Ordinary Farm is, well, no ordinary farm.

The bellowing in the barn comes not from a cow but from a dragon. The thundering herd in the valley? Unicorns. Uncle Gideon's sprawling farmhouse never looks the same twice. Plus, there's a flying monkey, a demon squirrel, and a barnload of unlikely farmhands with strange accents and even stranger powers.

At first, the whole place seems like a crazy adventure. But when darker secrets begin to surface and Uncle Gideon and his fabulous creatures are threatened, Lucinda and Tyler have to pull together to take action. Will two ordinary kids be able to save the dragons, the farm—and themselves?

Expert storytellers Tad Williams and Deborah Beale take readers on an extraordinary adventure in their first book about Ordinary Farm.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–8—When siblings Tyler and Lucinda are sent to spend their summer with distant relatives at Ordinary Farm, they soon find that the farm is anything but ordinary. The animals include a variety of mythical beasts, and even though the siblings have been sworn to secrecy, no one wants to explain to them how these unusual creatures and a variety of unusual human residents have come there. A magical library and its ghosts provide hints to the answers, but it's up to the children to put the clues together and continue their family tradition as the caregivers of Ordinary Farm. While they work to understand its secrets, Tyler and Lucinda also have action-packed roles to play in thwarting a rich businessman who's planning on taking over the property. Williams and Beale have created a gripping fantasy with realistic but appealing characters as well as scientific magic that explains the appearance of legendary creatures. Boy-girl protagonists and nonstop adventure make this a good choice for fantasy fans and reluctant readers of both genders, who will be left, like Tyler and Lucinda, looking forward to their next visit to Ordinary Farm.—Beth L. Meister, Milwaukee Jewish Day School, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This begins with the tried-and-true device of having two siblings shunted off to spend a summer with an odd, distant relative who is up to all manner of mysterious goings-on but flies off the handle when the kids naturally get a little curious. Tyler and Lucinda discover that their great-uncle Gideon is raising dragons, griffins, unicorns, and stablefuls of other mythical beasties. Where did they come from, and how are they kept a secret? The first half of the story is belabored by loads of heavy description as the authors, the husband-and-wife team of Williams (a noted adult fantasist) and Beale, struggle to whip up enough personality to spread across the considerably large cast. But the pace picks up considerably when the kids set out for a bit of time travel and a journey into an alternate reality, both of which are teasingly quick jaunts away from the farm. Patient readers will be rewarded with an exciting conclusion and many tantalizing seeds planted for future summers. Grades 4-7. --Ian Chipman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061543454
• ISBN-13: 978-0061543456
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #522,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Former singer, shoe-seller, radio show host, and inventor of interactive sci-fi television, Tad Williams is now a full-time writer. His 'Memory, Sorrow and Thorn' series established him as an internationally bestselling fantasy author. The series that followed, 'Otherland', is now a multi-million-dollar MMO launching in 2012 from dtp/realU/Gamigo. Tad is also the author of the fantasy series, the 'Shadowmarch' books; the stand-alone Faerie epic, 'The War of the Flowers'; two collections of short stories ('Rite' and 'A Stark and Wormy Knight'), the Shakespearian fantasy 'Caliban's Hour' and, with his partner & collaborator Deborah Beale, the childrens'/all-ages fantasy series, the 'Ordinary Farm' novels. Coming in September 2012 are the Bobby Dollar novels, fantasy thrillers set again the backdrop of the monstrously ancient cold war between Heaven and Hell: the first is 'The Dirty Streets of Heaven.'

Tad is also the author of 'Tailchaser's Song': his first novel spawned the subgenre of cats and fantasy that we see widely today. 'Tailchaser's Song' is currently in preproduction as an animated film from Animetropolis/IDA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant start to a new YA Series, June 2, 2009

By 

Olaf Keith (Dortmund) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dragons of Ordinary Farm (Hardcover)

The husband-and-wife team of Tad Williams & Deborah Beale publish the first volume in their Ordinary Farm series (which will eventually run to five volumes). THE DRAGONS OF ORDINARY FARM is aimed at a somewhat younger audience than Tad Williams' other books, but his adult readers will probably like it just as well.

The two main protagonists Tyler and Lucinda, who are unwillingly sent away to the suppossedly boring farm of a very distant relative to spend their summer there, are quickly drawn into the many secrets of Ordinary farm, its strange inhabitant and its even stranger livestock.

The book is fast-paced despite the large cast of characters and the plot thickens quickly. The tone is modern (think of "Otherland for kids") and the story is less straightforward fantasy but rather science fantasy. Many secrets are revealed and some mysteries solved, but although the first book offers closure, the story is far from over and many mysteries remain intact to be solved in future volumes. Perfect summer book for kids and parents alike.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly entertaining!, June 23, 2009

By 

cyan (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dragons of Ordinary Farm (Hardcover)

Authors Williams and Beale deftly mix action, adventure, mystery and humour in this perfect-for-summer read. The young protagonists, Tyler and Lucinda, are believable and engaging. The antagonists are plausibly motivated rather than gratuitously evil. The fantastical creatures are realistically dangerous, not fairy-tale idealizations.

Best of all, the conclusion is exciting and satisfying, yet leaves plenty of mysteries to delve into in the next volume. Much fun!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great start for a new series!, December 2, 2009

By 

AddictedToBooks "AddictedToBooks" (Beaverton, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dragons of Ordinary Farm (Kindle Edition)

I have enjoyed Tad Williams books ever since Tailchaser's Song. Can't wait for the next book in this series. I wish Amazon would get the complete Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series available to us fans of Tad Williams.