Customer Reviews

Measle and the Dragodon

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I read this to my children, 9 and 7 years old. They both enjoyed the story and it moved quickly enough to keep both of thier attentions. It was funny in parts and had enough suspense to entertain them. My youngest son would recite to his Dad what we had read the evening before. It had a few scary elements (the needle teeth on stuffed animals) but it was not so much that I would balk at recommending it to read with your children. Over all it was a fun book.

This is a great little known series about a young boy that fights insane wizards. It really keeps you on the edge of your seat. The first book in the series took place in a train set. This one puts a kid's imagination and dreams to work as the protagonist of the story battles the evil wrathmonks throughout an amusement part.

Measle and the Dragodon is an amazing book. This is a sequel to the first genius book 'Measle and the Wrathmonk'.

Ian Ogilvy has written about Measle, a 10-year-old boy who has just re-united with his parents 2 weeks before and is still recovering from his memories of the evil wrathmonk Basil Tramplebone.

Measle's parents, Sam and Lee are wrathmonk hunters. Sam (Measle's father) is minor wizard who is bright and willing for anything. Lee, a little more cautious, is a rare sort of person. She's a mana well. That means she has a never-ending supply of mana (which is what a wizard needs to have to cast a spell) that can be given to another person by them being married. By touching each other's hand, Sam and Lee can create the most wondrous spells.

It all starts at a grocery store in the parking lot when Sam and Lee were loading groceries into their trunk. Measle was coming with more groceries to catch up to them.

All of the sudden a band of evil wrathmonks (who were friends of Basil) came and snatched Lee to capture her and leave Sam with a mild case of amnesia.

Lee has been taken to an abandoned amusement park, closed for the winter. Measle's job is to find and rescue his mom and get revenge on who ever did this. He has to do this without being caught. All he has to help him is a dozen yellow jellybeans that will turn him and whatever he is touching invisible for 30 seconds, a trusty, scruffy little dog called Tinker, and a trumpet like instrument that imitates any voice he points it at. He has to hurry! His mother's life may be depending on it!

This book would be great for anyone who has a great love of mystical, adventure with a pinch of mystery. This is a suitable book for ages 10 and up.

Ian, you've done well!!

Reunited with his birth parents after years spent under the roof of notorious Basil Tramplebone, Measle is happy as can be. His parents are fond of fun, magic, and birthday-Christmas (a.k.a. "birthmas") parties. Everything is great--until something sets its sights on the family.

Sam Stubbs, Measle's father, is a Wizard, and his mom, Lee, provides Sam with never-ending mana (energy) for his magic. It's Lee's mana reserves that have attracted the Dragodon's attention. Using evil Wrathmonks to capture Lee and incapacitate Sam, the Dragodon sets a sinister plan into motion, and it's up to Measle to stop him.

In this dark fantasy for children, Ian Ogilvy brings back his spunky hero to fight the forces of nastiness. While this tale is imaginative, younger and more sensitive children would be better steered toward another title, such as the "Anybodies" series by N.E. Bode (same publisher). There are numerous references to violence and death, and there is an extended scene where Measle and Tinker (his dog) are hunted by animated toys with needles for teeth.

For children capable of handling such material without having nightmares, this is a decent read. This is even a good pick for kids who seek out scary stories. The writing itself is easy for intermediate readers, and the plot holds up for the most part. As always, it is the parents' responsibility to keep on eye on what their children are reading, and if the scary/violence is ok, there's not much to worry about in this book.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
9/6/2006