The Dragon of Doom

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

When Moongobble the magician moves to town, Edward is eager to become his new apprentice. It turns out, though, that Moongobble isn�??t much of a magician after all ƒ?? every time he tries a spell, he ends up turning something into cheese. In fact, heƒ??s about to lose his authority to practice magic if he canƒ??t prove himself proficient by completing three difficult tasks. The first task is to steal some special acorns from the Dragon of Doom, so Moongobble and Edward set off with Urk, the pessimistic talking toad, and the Rusty Knight, whoƒ??s nearly deaf, to find the dragonƒ??s cave.

This short childrenƒ??s novel provided my girls and me with an hourƒ??s worth of delightful show more entertainment. We listened to the charming version produced by Full Cast Audio. (It was available for free download from our libraryƒ??s Overdrive subscription, but if you donƒ??t have that, itƒ??s available for $2.95 at Audible.) As we listened to The Dragon of Doom, we laughed together often because Bruce Covilleƒ??s sense of humor is appealing to both children and adults.

At the end of The Dragon of Doom, Moongobble, with Edwardƒ??s help, has completed his first task. The second task will be introduced in the next volume of MOONGOBBLE AND ME, The Weeping Werewolf. My library doesnƒ??t have that one on audio, so Iƒ??ve purchased it at Audible.

Hereƒ??s what my daughters said about The Dragon of Doom:

Tali, age 9: ƒ??The Dragon of Doom had a lot of suspense and a lot of exciting events and it was very funny. Thatƒ??s why I liked it.ƒ?

Petra, age 6: ƒ??The Dragon of Doom was good!ƒ? show less

Edward is a young boy who lives in a small, unexciting town until a magician and his unusual friends move up the hill. He spies on the nearby cottage and receives a warm welcome from Moongobble, the magician and his talking toad companion, Urk. Moongobble brings Edward on as his apprentice for pay, which excites his mother since they need the money. Edward tries to help Moongobble prepare for a visit from Fazwald the mighty who must approve Moongobble as a magician to be a member of the Society of Magicians. Moongobble fails but still has a chance of membership if he completes three tasks decided by Fazwald. Edward, Urk, and the Rusty Knight accompany Moongobble on his mission to find the Golden Acorns that are protected by the dragon show more of doom. Graphite illustrations complement the text, along with decoratively bordered pages. Lower elementary school readers will find this a quick read, with short sentences and brief chapters that often end in a hook. Even the end of the story leads you to keep reading as the magician must pass two more tests to obtain his membership. show less

There are other Bruce Coville books I like better, but this would be a good introductory book for a fantasy series. I especially think it would appeal to late second grade boys.

I'm reading this at night with Quinton and Lucia. I think Q's enjoying it. The characters are cute, but I don't know that we'll read the rest of the series...

This story is perfect for young adults or adults who are young at heart. The light hearted story has perfect voice casting. I highly recommend it. This is the first story of the series and there are three. The second is the Weeping Werewolf and the third is The Evil Elves.

Just a fun kids story

Fantasy