Beast Quest: Quarg the Stone Dragon: Series 19 Book 1

I was surprised to see this offered for Vine review because this is an established and very popular series.Needless to say the youngest loved it - despite saying it had a "cover for girls" - and passed it around a couple of his pals too.

There are various different beast quest series, all under the beast quest heading. This series is dragon based and tells of a battle against an evil dragon and his master. I get the feeling that the main characters had been introduced in other beast quest series as although this is book one of this series (which is series 19) the characters seemed to be already established and maybe some prior knowledge presumed although it didn't affect our enjoyment of it.I've been reading this book with my 5,7 and 8 year old boys as a bedtime read aloud and we've all enjoyed it. It's also easy enough for the 7 and 8 to read themselves independently and I will get them more beast quest book so they can do that.

This is a new series and is the first book.My six year old was able to read this and enjoyed it. It is written well and it is ideal for any dragon obsessed child!...It certainly grabbed the interest of my child so would therefore recommend.

My son absolutely loves Beast Quest books. He has most of them already, and couldn't wait to start reading this new series. He is now 12, so you'd think these wouldn't interest him still, but he read this first one in one sitting and it kept him quiet for hours!! He was a little bit disappointed that there aren't the collectable cards in the back of the books any more, but enjoyed finding the 'hidden' coins throughout the book.It's lovely to know that there are books being written with young boys in mind, as there really aren't many that hold their interest. Well done Adam Blade.

Despite running a primary school library with LOADS of the Beast Quest books, I previously dismissed them as not being worth much of a read. When I read Quarg the Stone Dragon I discovered I was wrong to look down on these books.Despite being aimed at reluctant readers, with a small size and large font, this book does not skimp on language or vocabulary. In fact, as you can see from the extract below, they are packed with figurative language and interesting vocabulary. So much so that they would make good examples for teaching!"In the moonless dusk before dawn, the desolate plains of the Forbidden Lands spread out before them. Tom gazed down at the decaying landscape, half hidden by shrouds of mist. Craggy mountains jutted from the mist like rotten teeth, and the black skeleton hands of trees reached up into the night. A shiver of fear traced Tom's spine at the memory of his time spent in that forsaken place. "The story is interesting and fast paced, perfect for getting reluctant readers into books. I'll certainly be stocking plenty more of the Beast Quest books in my library!