The Dragon in the Sea

Dragon Keepers #5

by Kate Klimo, John Shroades (Illustrator)

This excellent series is solidly middle grade, accessible, and adventure-filled. In The Dragon in the Sea, Dragon Keepers Jesse and Daisy, help their dragon, Emmy, as she tries to protect an egg which holds her baby brother. Their adventures take them into the Watery Realms, a world filled with mer-people, selkies, and water zombies. Magic, mayhem, and an unusual cast of charaters make the reading fun, and the wonderful relationship between the dragon keeper cousins and their dragon add both depth and dimension.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Juvenile

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Kate Klimo spent her early years amidst the cornfields of Iowa where the winters were prodigious. Often, when the snows flash-thawed in the spring, she would find her backyard filled with the flapping, resurrected bodies of fish her ice-fishing father had stored in the snowdrifts. Thus sprang into her young head the unshakable notion that, all winter long, fish escaped from the rivers and magically swum through the snow banks of Mount Vernon, Iowa.

When she moved to the little town of Sea Cliff, on Long Island Sound, she met her best friend Justine in the Stenson Memorial Library at the main desk, where they often checked out the same fantasy writers. Together, they read C.S. Lewis, E. Nesbit, Edward Eager, and George MacDonald and embarked on a tireless search for portals to magical worlds, extending from abandoned Victorian mansions to the decrepit local five-and-dime to the sandy cliffs sweeping down to the Sound.

With her propensity for magical thinking and long-standing love of fantasy, does it come as any surprise that Kate grew up to be in the book business? But after over 25 years of heading up Random House Children’s Books, with the publication of The Dragon in the Sock Drawer in March 2008, Kate began to ease over to the author’s side of the desk.

Now a full-time author, in addition to numerous one-off titles, she has written the middle-grade series The Dragon Keepers series and the Dog Diaries as well the Centauriad for young adults. Under the pen name Bonnie Worth, she has penned over a dozen books in the best-selling Cat in the Hat Learning Library. She lives in New Paltz, New York with her husband and two horses.

Reviews

[Shanelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of a series starting with 'The Dragon in the sock Drawer". Truly magical, exciting story for children from about 9 years old, depending on their reading level. My daughter absolutely loved this series.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of an advance copy:

This is another enjoyable addition to the Dragon Keepers series. It begins with Daisy and Jesse visiting their grandmother's coastal home while Emmy spends some time with her new friends in the Fiery Realm. I thought it was going to be a strange book with 2 keepers and no dragon, but never fear - Emmy is needed quite quickly once Daisy discovers a dragon egg in the sea, and is promptly attacked by a merman and a selkie, losing the egg in the process. Fortunately, the cousins' grandmother is a believer in many mystical and magical things and is happy to welcome Emmy to her home. Once Emmy arrives, she and her keepers spend almost the entire book under the sea. So last book took place in a realm of fire, but now we spend our time in a realm of water, inhabited by selkies, mer-people, sunken ships, pirates, abandoned treasure, and anything else our deep-sea hearts might desire. This is a fun addition to the series. Those who pick up this book first will be able to follow the entire story but will want to go back and find out how Emerald came to be with Jesse and Daisy. These books are great for those kids who adore dragons but don't want to wade through a dense book with a high reading level. Klimo's book will probably be accessible to competent readers in 2nd - 5th grades, or a parent could read the story aloud to a younger child or less-confident reader.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fifth in the Dragon Keepers series. There is also a website - thedragonkeepers.com - with a complete guide to the world of the Dragon Keepers. Young fantasy fans will enjoy these further adventures of Jesse, Daisy and their dragon Emmy. This time the kids are visiting their grandmother, Polly, who has an inn near the sea. They discover a second dragon's egg by the sea and are swept into a battle to control it before the egg hatches. And the egg is nearly ready to hatch!

This one has lots of undersea adventures when Jesse and Daisy grow gills and have their legs turned into tails. The get to explore and undersea world complete with selkies, mermaids, kelpies, and other magical creatures. The also spend time aboard a sunken ship named the Golden Dragon.

The villain of the story is the dreaded Mermage who is the worlds largest sea cucumber. And, even though he is not able to move, he creates a real sense of menace in the story.

I think that this series would be especially good for upper elementary students who like the combination of fantasy and adventure. I also like the friendship between Jesse and Daisy and the way that they care for their dragon Emmy. They was also a lot of challenging vocabulary in this story because it was filled with nautical terms and other new vocabulary.

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters are captivating and they lead you an awesome adventure in fantasy.

I would recomme3nd it for the young reader or an adult that enjoys this genre.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of this series. My son and I both had trouble differentiating the characters and keeping up with the story. Kate Klimo is an all-time favorite for us, but this one just didn’t succeed.

[Sayra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read most of this series to both my kids, and they have both loved it. These books are full of fun and adventure.

[[ J o ]]

[ read the third book in the series, 'The Dragon in the Sock Drawer' and did not enjoy so will not be continuing with the series ]

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the Dragon Keepers series by Kate Klimo and John Shroades. We discovered this series by chance during a library visit and my oldest is enthralled. She read the first two book almost nonstop until she finished them. We borrowed the rest of the books quickly in succession from our local library. We've both read the whole series (so far) and really enjoyed the story.

I found the book to be a quick, entertaining read. It's a great series to introduce children into the sci-fi/fantasy genre and has some suspense and adventure without being too scary or weird (although the last few books in the series have gotten quite strange.) Jesse and Daisy, the main characters, are ten-year-old cousins. This preteen, sibling-like pair are brave and love to explore and they remind me of Jack and Annie from The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne.

This story takes Emmy and her keepers into the Watery Realm. This story was even more fantastic than the others, with the majority of the tale occurring in the ocean, mostly on a submerged shipwreck and in a 'Coral Jungle.' The story is exciting and dramatic. Some of the dialogue was decidedly California surfer dude, but it lended a touch of humor to the tale.

Overall, we really enjoyed these books and I can certainly see this series continuing past the first five books that have been published so far. Our oldest has raved so much about the series that our youngest is now wanting to read The Dragon in the Sock Drawer.

new words: malankey

[Jocelyn Montalvo Cullum]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14245958

[Madeline Henricksen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dragon in the Sea is book number 5 in the Dragon Keeper series about Emmy, a dragon, and her keepers, two kids called Jesse and Daisy, who are trying to destroy the evil dragon slayer, Saint George. In this adventure, the three go into the sea to find a valuable item they lost - - a thunder egg containing one of Emmy's siblings. There they get chased by water zombies and housed by kelpies.

This is another great book in the Dragon Keeper series. I really liked this book because it is fantasy and has dragons in it.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story. Daisy and Jesse are off on another adventure with their dragon Emmy. This time they get to swim in the sea with gills and rescue Emmy's unhatched sibling. Emmy is smart, even if she gets her words turned around once in a while. Daisy and Jesse understand and help her to get it right.
Fast, fun read.

[Bill Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great middle school novel, the fifth in a series but can be read as a stand alone as the author does a great job of bringing the reader up to date. Each chapter will have an illustration.

[Suzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is a good read,for fantasy and non-fantasy readers alike. Here at the library the young readers enjoy Daisy, Jesse and Emmy as much as some of the not-so-young readers.

[Horace Mann Family Reading Challenge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprises await after every page turned. J.Y.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This entry in the series seemed much more juvenile than earlier books.

[Dallin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book it is a good book for people that like magic and mystery it is funny and has a good ending.

[Gryphon · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were Zombie Mermaids!!!!

[Tiffiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 11-yr-old son read this. When I asked why 5 stars he said, "It had zombie mermaids!" There you go...

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Klimo did a very good job on this series. very good book.

[Eliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? I love dragons and I love books, therefore I LOVE these books!

[Hillvan]

760L

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ultra-sonic hyperfierce gnarly read, dudes.