Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher

Magic Shop #2

by Bruce Coville, Gary A. Lippincott (Illustrator)

Sixth-grader Jeremy Thatcher discovers a strange magic shop he has never seen before. He enters, and his life is changed forever. Buying what he thinks is a marble, he discovers he has really purchased a dragon's egg. "A funny, enjoyable, imaginative story whose serious undercurrents lend it unexpected depth."-Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Magic

178 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 1991

Reviews

[Christopher Paolini · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea for the Inheritance Cycle came from my love for the magic of stories and how they can transport the reader into fantastical places. Also, I was inspired by this book, Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, by Bruce Coville, the tale of a boy who buys a “stone” from which a dragon hatches. I liked the idea so much, I couldn’t get it out of my head. So I asked three questions: what land would a dragon egg come from, who would find it, and—since dragon eggs can’t be common—who else would be looking for it? My quest to answer those questions led me to envision the story that became Eragon.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the four books in his Unicorn Chronicles of Luster last year and thoroughly enjoyed them I spotted this book on a stall in a Church Christmas Fayre and picked it up for ten pence. A ten pence well spent. The man is absolutely brilliant and I only wish I had been born in 1993 instead of '63 and then I would not have to justify my intending to devour everything he has written as 'research' for my studies in children's literature and faith.



The story is of a young man who stumbles upon a magic shop whilst fleeing two bullies and a girl of 11 who is desperate to kiss him. (It is only the girl who wants the snog, you understand). In this shop he is 'chosen' by a dragon's egg and becomes its Hatcher, the person responsible for the safe arrival and then nurturing of the infant dragon.

The developing relationship between Jeremy, the boy, and Tiamat, the dragon, is really endearing and full of great imaginative strands and creations. The telepathic communication and the development of this skill between the two is clever and, strange to say, totally believable and the personality of the dragon becomes clearer and clearer and more and more real. As with the Luster stories, Coville paints in the back story although inevitably with only a 150 pages in which to do this, it is curtailed somewhat.


Coville has, running alongside the developing relationship, other storylines which would be of significance to the readers for whom the book was actually written. A hated bully of a teacher who happens to be the teacher of Art, his favourite subject; the awkwardness of the first stirrings of boy/girl attraction; the difficulty of maintaining a best friend relationship when that best friend begins to look at the world differently. And then there were also two lovely themes linked to the dragon and seemingly the crux of the message. Firstly, at one point Jeremy realizes that hardly anyone can actually see Tiamat...this leads him to two related reflections; perhaps belief/love is the key to sight and thus maybe the world full of, as yet, unseen, unnoticed wonders?


The second overall theme is the most important


'Nothing you love is lost. Not really. Things, people - they always go away, sooner or later. You can't hold them anymore than you can hold moonlight. But if they've touched you, if they're inside you, then they're still yours. The only things you ever really have are the ones you hold inside your heart.'


Coville is a great gift to the literature of enchantment because he enhances that sense of mystery and wonder and he feeds the marvelously important gene of hope which strains to see beyond and then imagines glories hidden and yet waiting. This is another book for the ever growing pile to be given to my, hopefully, ever growing number of great nephews and nieces.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delight!

Read aloud 2020: My kids loved it, too! They requested the sequel, and are disappointed that there isn't one!

[Miranda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Nothing you love is lost

Jeremy Thatch is NOT having a good day.

He gets chased by Howard and Freddie, Mary Lou tried to kiss him AND he manages to get lost in his own neighborhood.

At least, the shop he's wandered into looks pretty cool.

There's all sorts of dangerous and mysterious things on the shelves...including a vaguely egg-like object (but it's far bigger than any egg he's ever seen before).

Jeremy buys the egg and...out pops a dragon.

A real, live dragon.

But soon, Jeremy learns that hatching a dragon...and raising one...is two completely different things!

Not a bad book!

(though, to be fair, I am a HUGE fan of anything with a dragon in it)

I really liked how the world was build - fairly normal with an underlying air of mystery.

The characters - especially Mary Lou - were rather cute. I wish we would've had their personalities develop a bit more but ah well. It was only 160 pages.

I was kind of hoping for a bit more adventure but overall, I was rather satisfied with this one.

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[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book from Rick Riordan's 'suggested reading page. What a fun little story. I want to read more about this mysterious magic shop. Jeremy is chosen to hatch a dragon egg. The bond they form and how he deals with the dragon are sharp writing. Check out this book

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read Jennifer Murdley's Toad and The Monster's Ring, but this is my favorite novel in the Magic Shop Series thus far. The eponymous Jeremy learns a lot about what’s important and about judging people, but author Bruce Coville never lets the message slow down the action in a book that young and old alike will love.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute book about a boy who suddenly finds himself raising a baby dragon. I liked Jeremy's bond with Tiamat and how much he grew to care for her. In caring for the dragon, Jeremy also makes a new friend in Mary Lou. They fed Tiamat, helped keep her safe, and Jeremy even got to go for a ride!

The main theme of this is that though people or things you love may go away, that love never leaves you. The memory remains and you are better for having experienced that love. It was a sweet message and the ending had a happy ending.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremy stumbles into the magic shop and is entranced by a beautiful stone egg of swirling colors. The shopkeeper gives him the egg along with instructions for how to hatch a dragons egg. Jeremy has to keep the dragon egg a secret and expose the egg to the light of a full moon. But when a baby dragon hatches, Jeremy has his hands full taking care of a rapidly growing young dragon.

This story is hilarious and heart-felt! Jeremy goes through some wonderful character development. The supporting characters are unique and funny. Many of the plot points and themes overlap in clever ways as Jeremy deals with a difficult teacher at school, avoids a girl who declares she loves him, and struggles against feeling jealous of his best friend. The story takes many twists and turns, but at the center of it all is a fabulous baby dragon demanding Jeremy’s attention and care.

One of the best things about this book is the fiercely loyal and emotional connection between Jeremy and the baby dragon. The development of their close relationship is beautifully written, but also really entertaining and funny!

[Fiver · Rating 3 out of 5]

An undervalued little gem. "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" is in many ways your standard juvenile-fantasy novel: A young boy with his own special set of troubles in life stumbles upon a fantasy element: a dragonlet that he has received responsibility for hatching and raising. Twenty bucks goes to the contestant who can guess whether or not Jeremy will learn something from the experience... but this is a good book nonetheless.

This book takes children seriously. Jeremy's problems are personal and believable, but at the same time the prospect of secretly raising a dragonlet is exciting and fun to read about. Although the book doesn't have enough magic in it to make it a must-read classic, it is certainly no waste of time. A good read for the age-appropriate group.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readable story in which a child buys a dragon egg and hatches it, with attending difficulties. Young Jeremy, however, seems too good to be true to me, could never really quite connect with him. He's doing all the right things, but I still want to poke at him with a stick. And I feel churlish saying this about a kids' book, but the feel-good ending sort of took away from the story for me. But I get it, Jeremy made a series of good decisions and was rewarded for it, so fairness restores the universe.

There's also times, sad to say, that the prose is not that great. The one example that really stuck out was referring to Jeremy's feelings of anxiety/excitement: "Ignoring the crescendo of his stomach symphony..." Yeah.

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved this book for as long as it has existed. It deals with remarkably mature themes, like loneliness, loss, fear, anger, unrequited love, sexual development, and premature fatherhood. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

[Reymigius · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells a story about a boy's unexpected companionship with a dragon. It depicts the awkwardness, the silliness, and the beauty that could happen between the two, which are completely different creatures, perfectly. The plot itself is quite too simple in my taste, but I won't protest since this is a book written for children.

[C.J. Milbrandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the run from bullies and a girl he definitely does not want to kiss, Jeremy finds himself on a road he doesn't recognize even though he's from a small town. Perusing items in a magic shop, he finds a mysterious sphere that swirls with colors, and with warnings aplenty, the shopkeeper lets him take home the treasure. A dragon's egg.

Notable: Jeremy's dad is a veterinarian, and their house is already overrun with pets. Jeremy's good at taking care of animals, and he (and his best friend) are artists. A good kid. A fun story.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up. This accomplished a lot dealing with bullying, friendship between a boy and a girl, teacher not acting fair, grief...

Jeremy after escaping some bullies after school finds himself in a part of town he never seen before and the owner of a dragon egg.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher is several ingredients shy of a good novel.

First, the prose was shoddy. I think the manuscript could have used another rewrite or two before it was published. The author and editors must share the blame for this.

For example, participial phrases were glaringly overused on every page. In some paragraphs, they appear in every sentence:

“Feeling slightly foolish, he tiptoed down the stairs. The kitchen cats twined around his feet, begging for a snack. Ignoring them, Jeremy slipped out the back door.”

Sometimes there are several smashed together in a single sentence: “Looking up, he saw Tiamat wheeling through the sky, looking like a string of rubies in the sunshine.”

And sometimes they are even misused, causing logical errors: “Retrieving the box, Jeremy headed up the stairs,” and “ Slipping the instructions under a pile of his drawings, Jeremy headed out of this room and down the stairs.” The author apparently doesn’t realize that this grammatical construction means that the subject is doing two things simultaneously, not in sequence. But then again, where were the editors to catch this?

The pacing of the book was also too fast in most places. It was also unnaturally choppy. For example, Jeremy stalls before going out to help his mother rake leaves. But as soon as he goes out, he is back again. So then why did the author even bother to keep telling me that he had to go out? This was one of many scenes that jumped around.

The overly quick pacing also ruined potentially delightful, vivid scenes.

For example, the mysterious magic shop appears and then disappears so fast that I almost wasn’t sure whether I read it correctly. With some attention to detail and timing, it could have cast a magical mood, drawing me into the story.

The time that Jeremy is flailing his arms in a telepathic attempt to shed his skin could have made me laugh had it been written skillfully. The moment when the cat pulls the tablecloth off the table could have also been hilarious with more attention to timing and detail. Instead, it was cliche: “With a resounding crash, everything — plates, candles, silverware, and food — fell to the floor.”

And the ending was sappy, not moving.

Other scenes were just plain pathetic, such as when the newly hatched dragon tried to shake Jeremy’s hand by biting his finger and wagging it back and forth. So shaking hands is a ritual that dragons know innately? But since they aren’t born with hands, they shake people’s fingers with their teeth instead? The premise was so absurd that it bothered me long after I turned the page.

The characters’ names were another irritant. I can forgive the cutesy rhyme in the book’s title. But doesn’t Mary Lou Hutton sound a little too much like Mary Lou Retton, the olympian gymnast? And Jeremy’s best friend is named Specimen. Specimen? Give me a break.

I liked the characterization of the veterinarian father, since he was different than the overused stereotypical dads in this sort of novel. But the mother’s speech was completely unnatural to the point of breaking the story flow. If the writer had any personality in mind for the mother when he wrote her dialogue, he failed to convey it. The librarian had a completely different personality when she appeared near the end of the book. WTF?

I got the idea the author was in a haste to write this book. So I was in a haste to finish it.

Then again, I’m not sure if better prose and more revisions could have saved this story. The book seemed to lack a compelling plot until page 125 (out of 181), when Jeremy receives a letter from Elives about what is going to happen to the dragon.

On pages 129-130 we and Jeremy learn from a library book about why dragons are being hatched in this world. I found this part intriguing. Suddenly, the story had a reason for being, although it was almost finished by that time. I wish I had known about it much earlier in the book. It would have given more depth and meaning to the otherwise plotless chain of pointless charades.

The story seemed to be rife with potential, hinting at both mystique and humor and bringing fantasy into an otherwise realist setting. But through sloppy writing it delivered very little in the way of enjoyment. A waste of time.

[Melissa McShane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like it when my kids want me to read books they love. This is a sweet story about a boy and his dragon, or at least the dragon he's been chosen to care for from hatching to adulthood. Jeremy's experience is a lot like caring for an infant, and I think most parents would love to have an instruction manual like his. There's a lot of wisdom here that kids will appreciate because it doesn't sound like preaching, such as how having a desire for something makes it more likely that you will find it, and that no matter how much work you put into helping someone grow, eventually you have to let them find their own path or all that work will have been pointless. It's not quite the kind of middle-grade fiction that adults (in my opinion) can fully enjoy, but it's an excellent choice for intelligent young readers who aren't quite ready for YA fiction.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

3/31/2017 ** So...I've "sold" this book dozens of times, but I realized I'd never actually read it. What brought it to my attention this week? I bought a puppet - a Folkmanis dragon. I envision using the dragon as a mascot for my library, and maybe as a vehicle for doing author interviews and student reader interviews.

Obviously, my dragon needs a name. So what do I do? Go to a wiki page of dragons in children's literature! So many choices: Norbert from Hagrid in Harry Potter, dragons from LeGuin, from Weis & Hickman, Paolini, Tolkein, Tamora Pierce. Oh, and Coville.

Meet Tiamat, a female baby dragon from an egg bought at Mr. Elives' Magic Shop. The only problem is that Tiamat in the book is red. Oh well...can't have everything.

[F.H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omg! Reading this series after 7 years and as an adult sure feels different; yet, I still love the magic shop. I originally gave it a 3 based on what I remembered from the book (this was last year when I joined goodreads) but after re-reading, it sure deserves 4 stars and I can't wait because #3 and #4 of this series are two of my favourite books of all times that I haven't read for 7 years. I'm so excited. I wish Bruce Coville would continue and write more because this series is great.

[Leah Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this about twenty years ago, but I still remember it. It's one of the first novels that I read myself and thoroughly enjoyed.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to listen to these books on audio while I did chores and such, but realized that I read them a lot faster than the recordings. I first read this book probably around 2nd or 3rd grade and have remembered it very vividly so I figured I would revisit it and read the rest of the series.

This one was how I remembered. It is just a fun story, no real “moral” or lesson or anything, not much (if any) character growth, just a simple little story about a boy with a dragon. I guess the take away is that you never truly lose those you love, not really.

I wanted a dragon when I was a kid. I *still* want a dragon but, ah well.

[Pam Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

While working in the children’s section of a public library, I helped a very excited young girl find books about dragons. She confessed she was obsessed with dragons and only wanted to read dragon books. I pulled “Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher” from the shelf and her eyes got big as she exclaimed that this was the book that made her love dragons. It took me a while to actually get around to reading it, but I’m glad I did. It feels modern and relatable, but pays homage to more traditional dragon lore. It could make a good read-aloud, but I would suggest it to 8-12 year olds...especially ones who are reluctantly transitioning to chapter books. It has a few pictures but the story rewards the reader for the time they put into it. A good story with a male protagonist and a sense of magic and adventure as well as personal growth.

[Ben De Bono · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bruce Coville somehow managed to write a story about dragons without any tension or excitement whatsoever! In the afterword he says his original idea was for this to be a short story and that even after it got too long for that, his editor had to coax him to get it up to the current length. I believe it! Even at 150 pages (with large font and lots of full page illustrations) this thing is an exercise in padding. I've read lots of books like this to my kids. While Jeremy Thatcher isn't the worst, it's certainly among the dullest

[Rebeccah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I’m miles behind on my reading challenge, so grabbed the shortest book I could find on my shelf. I read a lot of Bruce Coville as a child, though I don’t remember this one in particular. It was surprisingly enjoyable even as an adult. I appreciate that the communication between Jeremy and his dragon was quite sincere rather than the ‘banter’ I would have expected. Also librarians with hidden magical depths is absolutely a plot point I can get behind.

Overall a sweet, fun read that I’ll hang onto for when my nieces and nephews are a few years older.

[Ellie Laney Beckwith · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off I am a HUGE Bruce Coville fan - his books are magical and wonderful - That being said, I’ve been teaching this book to my 6th grade reading class the last month and let me just say it is phenomenal. Full of fantasy & emotion - my students loved it. I had three separate students tell me it was the best book they ever read! Makes my teacher heart happy. Thank you Bruce Coville for giving my students who don’t like reading the inspiration to find books they do love and giving them the best book they have ever read ♥️

[Emily Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an adorable, sweet story. I really enjoyed it. So innocent and fantastical, adventurous and yet kind, sweet. Its the story of a young boy who loves art and imagination, and he gets a subject to draw unlike anyone else's---a dragon! From beginning to end its a delightful book, and I enjoyed reading it for the sake of getting ideas on writing children's fiction. A must read for any kid who loves dragons. Illustrations are pretty cute, too.

[Kenya | Reviews May Vary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher is about a 6th grader who is chosen to care for a dragon egg so it can hatch safely and get ready to go home. Jeremy really had no idea what he was bargaining for or that he would become so attached to the little menace! I’m editorializing, y’all. I met Mr. Coville at a children’s book festival and he was a treat to behold in his discussion about storytelling. #MiddleGrade

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sometimes find it difficult giving an authentic rating to children’s book—this is a perfect example. As an adult, I didn’t feel especially moved by the story or (one-dimensional) characters, but as a kid, I’m sure I would have been filled with awe and wonderment. My four-year old son enjoyed it, so maybe it deserves a higher rating? As an adult, I give it a solid three star, but maybe as a kid I would have rated it four.

[Earline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still one of my favorites after all these years. The ending actually made me cry, which is very unusual for me. Love it.

[Shane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Calvin seemed to like it well enough. Nothing special.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it as a child. Enjoyed rediscovering it with my children!