LitPick Review
Jamison Greene is having a tough time growing up in the Gold Coast. His father is remarried and has a new baby living in far off Paris. His mom is with a new boyfriend and neither is very good at anything in regards to parenting, so they leave him pretty much to fend for himself all the time. One afternoon after leaving his house to get away from the chaos at home, he goes to Surfers Paradise, a beach area he loves to spend time at to escape his problems. He meets a guy named Raymond who is sculpting a dragon in the sand. Jamison thinks this sand creature is cool-looking and stays the entire day talking to Raymond. After Raymond leaves for the night, Jamison drifts off to sleep next to the finished dragon. When he awakes, he can’t believe his eyes. The dragon is now alive right next to him. The dragon’s name is Littus.
Littus and Jamison become friends. While they are getting to know each other, Jamison tells Littus that he was supposed to spend this break time off from school with his father in Paris, but plans changed last minute and the Paris trip got canceled. If it were up to him, he’d still go to Paris even though his father now has to work. Littus gets a wonderful idea. He and his other dragon friends around the world will take Jamison to Paris so he can spend time with his father. Does Jamison ever make it to Paris to spend time with his dad? What happens along the way when Jamison meets the other dragons?
Opinion:
I must admit this was a refreshing take on a dragon story! I wasn’t sure what was going to happen once Jamison agreed to have Littus and his dragon friends take him around the world to go find his father in Paris. I truly felt that I was on a roller-coaster ride of emotions as if I was stepping into Jamison’s shoes. As he met up with Littus’ other dragon friends, all having their own unique powers that would assist Jamison in his search to get to his father, I felt my heart beating out of my chest when he rode on the back of each dragon. Ms. James described everything in such detail that I felt that I was the one riding on each of the dragons’ backs, with the wind blowing in my hair and the nervousness in my stomach that Jamison was experiencing.
The author added such creativity to the development of every human character, but when she introduced each dragon, her creativity turned up several notches! I found myself believing that each dragon was a living, breathing animal that was going to take me on a ride of a lifetime. I could see their individual colors, feel their scales beneath my fingertips, and I felt as if I was becoming their friend as well. Children will love getting lost in this story because the storyline is just so believable!
An interesting tidbit about the author was that she is an Australian teacher, who loves traveling. In her years of travel, she actually lived in China for ten years. Her life experience in China actually inspired her to write this story. Although she’s been writing for forty years, this is her very first children’s book.
Overall, The Dragon Way Home is a story that will delight readers of all ages. They will love the detailed storyline and the well-developed characters, including each dragon that has a part in the story. Who wouldn’t want to be taken on an adventure with different dragons! Well done, Ms. James!
