The Scarlet Dragon

The Kingdom of Wrenly #2

by Jordan Quinn, Robert McPhillips (Illustrations)

In this second Kingdom of Wrenly chapter book, Lucas and Clara search for special berries that will cure the scarlet dragon.

In this second book in The Kingdom of Wrenly series, an unusual egg has been found on Crestwood, the land of dragons. When the egg starts to hatch, the king, queen, and Prince Lucas are there to see what emerges. It’s…a scarlet dragon! Everyone is amazed to see the creature, which they have only heard about in tall tales.

King Caleb declares that the special dragon will belong to an overjoyed Prince Lucas, who vows to keep his dragon safe. But when the scarlet dragon gets sick, the only cure is a potion made with vixberries that grow deep in the forest of Burth (the land of trolls). Lucas and Clara set out to find these special berries, but the task is harder than they expected. Will they be able to find the berries and save the scarlet dragon?

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, The Kingdom of Wrenly chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Chapter Books, Fiction, Dragons, Middle Grade, Audiobook

117 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prince Lucas no longer has to worry about being isolated from other kids. King Caleb was initially against the young prince associating with commoners, but Lucas always liked Clara Gills, whose mother is Queen Tasha's seamstress. Rather than place an unbearable burden of loneliness on Lucas, the king consented for him to befriend Clara. Grand adventures await, and first among them is the rumored discovery of an abandoned scarlet dragon's egg on the island of Crestwood. It's been two hundred years since the last scarlet dragon...is the Kingdom of Wrenly about to witness another one? If the egg hatches, King Caleb says, Lucas may keep the dragon. It will be a pet worthy of a prince.

Wizards André and Grom teach Lucas how to care for the expected dragon baby. Months go by without a sound from the egg, but when the first crack appears in its surface, everyone rushes to see the miracle creature emerge. He's a charming beast, as red as the eggshell, and Lucas and Clara love him immediately. They name him Ruskin, meaning "redhead", and settle their new friend into the warm tunnels of the lair built for him, but something is wrong. Ruskin won't touch food, and looks sickly. André declares the infant dragon's life is in jeopardy, and his only chance to survive is a medicinal mixture of mint tea and vixberries. The problem is, vixberries only grow in the Starless Forest on the island of Burth, and no one knows exactly where. Without the berries, Ruskin will die.

King Caleb sends a team to search for the berries, offering a sizable reward in gold, but it seems a lost cause. At the rate Ruskin is deteriorating, what hope is there of vixberries being found in time? But Clara may have a lead on the whereabouts of the legendary berries. Swearing Lucas to secrecy, she takes him to a friend who knows where the berries grow. It's a luminous, magical journey to harvest the antidote, but will they return soon enough to save Ruskin from perishing as the last of the scarlet dragons?

The first Kingdom of Wrenly book, The Lost Stone, was stronger than this one. The plot surprises and themes were unusually potent for an early chapter book. The Scarlet Dragon is closer to what I expected, an interesting story with mild suspense stemming from Ruskin's illness. The illustrations added by Robert McPhillips are nice, particularly the dark pages in the Starless Forest. I'd probably rate The Scarlet Dragon one and a half stars, but I look forward to subsequent adventures set up by this one. High fantasy for early chapter book readers is less than common, and I'm enjoying this series. I'll revisit Lucas, Clara, and the Kingdom of Wrenly soon.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son loves this series. Most of them are more like three stars for me but I do see the appeal. This is cute in the “boy and his new puppy” way (except it is a baby dragon not a puppy) but there is some animal peril (baby dragon gets life-threatening illness) so note that if you have sensitive readers though all ends well. I should add the illustrations in this series are very good.

[Jack Kawata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the book was a four star book because it was so interesting 🧐 to me because it had a baby Dragon 🐉 in it.

[Beth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids were so excited to pick this up from the library today and we immediately sat down and read this cover to cover. This has been a good early chapter series for my 4-7 year olds, engaging illustrations and lots of action and excitement. They love the map at the beginning of the book and that the story references many different locations. Fantasy is pretty hard to pull off at such a young reading level, so the 4 star rating is merely for what this is, not comparing it to any sort of immersive true fantasy. It’s a good first step series.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I liked the part when a wizard found a scarlet egg (scarlet eggs are rare) which means a scarlet dragon will hatch. I also enjoyed this book because I liked the part when Lucas got to keep the scarlet dragon. I also liked the part when a bunch of knights made a lair for the scarlet dragon with an escape exit.

[Mabearbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great adventure with Prince Lucas and his true friend, Clara. The red baby dragon, Ruskin is too cute for words and I'm so glad we get to meet him as I'm sure he and the kids will jave many amazing adventures. These stories are just so charming, the writing isengaging and the gorgeous illustrations add a further touch of whimsy.

[Stacey Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very enjoyable story to read with my four-year-old.

[Qt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and charming--I love the illustrations!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Dragon's egg hatches and so beginning a big adventure for his care taker, the young prince.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the second book in the Secrets of Wrenly series that we have read as a family. My oldest daughter and I took turn's reading it to the younger children. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the book. This is one of a few series we are reading currently together. The children really enjoy the illustrations. The reading level is such that my grade 4 can read it easily, and yet the story is entertaining enough that all the way down to kindergarten love reading it.

The illustrations by Robert McPhillips really help make the story. We have been reading these books electronically and the kids love expanding the pictures and zooming in to see all the details. The pen and ink or line sketches really do contain a lot of details. The children love going back and forth to the pictures as we read.

As the second book in the series there is less set up and background compared to the first story. Therefore we jump right into the adventure. In this story a Scarlet dragon egg is found, but soon after hatching it becomes Ill. Lucas and Clara go on an adventure to find special berries, vixberries to be specific, that will help cure the dragonling.

Overall this was better than book one. And it sets up lots of promising future reading with 8 more books already out in the series. We are looking forward to seeing what Clara and Lucas get up to next. These books are great for young readers and those who read to them. So go for an adventure in Wrenly I am sure you will enjoy the quest.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books in the Wrenly series.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series to my first graders at the end of the day after we have cleaned up for the day and we are ready to head home. With backpacks on, they recline and listen to me tell the story of Lucas, the prince; Clara, his friend, and the many adventures he goes on. In this book, they meet Bren, a troll friend of Clara that takes them to a secret place for vixberries to save the Scarlett dragon. But they only have until sunset to complete the task…will they make it in time? We will have to find out tomorrow, the bell just rang for dismissal. Have a good night.

[Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best but I will say I like books with pictures it almost tells you it the all the books have pictures and I'm happy

[Jacklyn (ReadingBliss) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the first one and thought it was cute. I preread as many books as I can before I give them to my kids, no matter how innocent they seem. This one passed the test and my 9 year old son was excited to read the dragon story. He enjoyed the first in the series, but it was the dragon that excited him and enticed him to ask for this sequel. I finished reading it today and he will finish reading it tomorrow. My favorite part, as a mother, besides enriching and inspiring his mind, is when he comes rushing up to me in enthusiasm to share the details of his reading adventure or what he learned. I noticed the back of the book recommends for ages 5-9 and I think they are spot on. My son is a strong reader, but like me, sees value in reading easier reads sometimes. I do think by his tenth birthday that he will outgrow this level of maturity quite a bit and would only entertain it in the same way I entertain it. He will probably need something with more detail and wit to keep him growing as an avid reader, but this was a perfect stepping stone. I Olán to use these first two books as a part of my subsequent children’s stepping stones in their reading journey as well. I look forward to discovering what truly ignites their engines, but thoroughly enjoy all of our book clubs with all our book talks while they figure it out.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scarlet red dragon’s egg has been found on the Island of Crestwood, in the land of Dragons, in the Kingdom of Wrenly. Prince Lucas longs to train the dragon and raise the dragon as his own. He plans and prepares for the little hatchling. When the dragon does not thrive, he and his friend Clara must venture into the unknown for a cure.

Colette and I read this chapter book one weekend when she was staying at my house this July. Beginner Reader series. Colette will start 1st grade this fall. She enjoyed the tale and is interested in reading more in the series. She could have read some on her own, but still enjoys being read to as she imagines this world. The book has a great map of the Kingdom of Wrenly that we referred to as we read the chapters and followed the Prince's travels throughout the Kingdom.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Review: This is a really fun series for young readers, it is a great fantasy but without being overly complex. I enjoyed the fact that Lucas got to be on his own with this book, it made it clear that he would be the main character of the series, instead of always being both him and Clara. I also like how he had to work for what he wanted in this story, though we didn't get to see his research and planning, but he still had to take initiative. I am definitely going to be adding this series to my shelves for Munchkin as he gets a bit older.

[ben adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, sincere story with struggles that must be overcome without violence (which is surprisingly uncommon in youth literature). I think the only real complaint I have about these books is that the main character is very privileged and the character arc is centered on him not getting exactly what he wants. That being said, he cooperates with friends to ascertain his what he wants rather than just getting it by divine right or something.

[Andrew J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first sequel in 'The Kingdom of Wrenly' is better than the first one, I say. This is more believable and has a surprisingly touching story. I really only noticed 2 issues: 1, the cover shows Clara at the hatching even though she wasn't actually there; and 2, inexplicably, at the end of the story, the palace is somehow able, with no prep time or notice, to hold a baby shower in honor of the scarlet dragon. I said it was more believable. Not completely believable, lol. How speciest .3 stars.

[Mary T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this aloud in one sitting to two of my boys (8 and 4). It's a great fantasy for young readers. I was excited to go through the whole series, but I noticed some of the upcoming ones involving witches, curses, spells, and ghosts, so I may have to pass after the next one. This one was great, though!

[Efox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second book was much more enjoyable than the first - at least for this mom. My 5 year old LOVES these books. She's all in and I think that's great.

In this story there's a red dragon being born and everyone is very excited about that. The quest for Lucas and Clara involves helping save the dragon. Overall the story was more consistent and a bit better from an adult reader perspective.

[Bastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Scarlet Dragon is about a prince and his friends trying to cure a sickness in their kingdom. The story has dragons, magic, and even a unicorn, which makes it exciting. The characters are fun to follow, even though they don’t change much. I liked how they worked together to solve the problem.

[Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story.

These are the words young readers might struggle with:

P2 chomps
P4 munching
P7 bellowed
P9 chimed in
P10 bolted from his seat

P29 (typo) The king kneeled beside the it.

P46 rabbit illustration is very cute
P51 fox illustration cute

P54 underbrush
Wrens warbled

p104 flitted
snuffed

[Stephanie P (Because My Mother Read) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my 4 year old son and we enjoyed hearing another fun adventure from this fantasy land. It held his attention easily with the beautiful illustrations on every page and he liked hearing a story about a dragon.

[Jack O · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked how there was a little troll. I also liked how they added a baby dragon to the story. The only thing I don't like about the book is that they made it a red fire dragon, because in other books these kind are common. I give this book a 7 star rating out of 10. - Jack, age 7

[Steve Stred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun second book in the series, even if the ending felt very truncated.
Great to see the journey to find the vixberries and opening portal options, which always make for imaginative settings. On to book three!

[Aimee Guarnaccio · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - Cute, quick little cotton candy read. This is the kind of stuff we will soon turf to the kids to read on their own, but for now, makes for contented couch time snuggles as I read aloud to my 6 and 5 year old. Nice illustrations in every page. Laying a base for the big F fantasy realms of Middle Earth, Hogwarts, etc. We read the entire book in a day.

[Keshia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love this little series! It would be so great for reluctant readers. I loved how the pages changed to reflect the starless forest. On to the next.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like a 3.7. It was better than I expected it to be, but I still have others I like better.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid early chapter book. 👍🏻 The Story was interesting and had a good pace.

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

L

[brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the plot in this story. Reading this book gave opportunity and fun details. This book was a blast!