Ember Spark and the Thunder of Dragons - Ai Elphinstone

Ember lives in the tiny village of Yawn on the east coast of Scotland, a place so small that it can't even be found on a map.  Ember yearns for adventure and absolutely believes that this will never be found in Yawn; that is until she has to rescue a hamster named Forty Winks from drowning, and is then given a cryptic message by her teacher.  Following the instructions, Ember, along with her classmate Arno, discover a cave full of magical creatures and one rather old man called Rusty Fizzbang, vet to magical beasts.  Unfortunately Rusty has put his back out so it's up to Ember and Arno to help the beasts, including Smidge, a baby dragon whose heart will break if they don't find his parents.  Cue the flying bathtub and an adventure that will set your pulse racing, but will Ember and Arno succeed or will Jasper Hornswaggle, who is determined to steal magical creatures for his own gains, thwart their efforts?

It really is no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Abi's writing, so the arrival of Ember Spark and the Thunder of Dragons was my cue to drop everything and dive head-first into a new world.  And I can tell you that it was just the escape I needed on Saturday afternoon! 

I love Ember!  There's a definite thirst for adventure lurking within her (after all, why else would she keep her wellies under her pillow?) and she's desperate for her life to begin, but behind all the openness to let adventure in, there is also a real guardedness to her, one which is closed off to friendships.  Scarred by her parents' break-up, her walls are up, she's pushed all her friends away and she point blank refuses to accept Arno as a friend.  I think the adventure she finds was one she needed more than she ever knew.

By contrast, Arno seems to want to live a quiet life without adventure; in fact he seems positively scared of adventure.  He simply wants to blend in and not be noticed to avoid the bullies.  Together they make a great pairing and needed each other - something their teacher, Mrs Rickety-Knees clearly knew long before either of them (by the way, as I grow older, I shall definitely be modelling myself on her - she is just the best!)

One of the things I love most about reading Abi's books, is discovering the names she has given her characters and places, and this book is no exception, from Forty Winks to Yawn and Rusty Fizzbang, everybody's name suits them perfectly (in fact, my Year 6 classes (as well as me!) tried to channel their inner Elphinstone last term when naming places on the islands they had created!).  The other thing I love about Abi's writing is how timeless and comforting it feels; as you lose yourself in the pages, it's like being wrapped in a warm hug you don't want to be released from.

Due for release on the 9th May, Ember Spark and the Thunder of Dragons is the perfect mix of magic, imagination and adventure that reminds us all, no matter how old we are, that pausing to find out what is right under our noses might just lead us to the biggest adventure yet.