Small Flames: Jory the Orange Dragon

by A.M. Luzzader, Joshua Bostwick (Illustrator)

Welcome to the Dragon Realm of Savra, where young dragons, known as Small Flames, compete in the yearly Fire Ridge Tournament to become Valor Dragons. Who will win? Who will be defeated? Each Small Flame has a different story!

Jory the Orange wants to be a Valor Dragon more than anything. However, he is small and not as strong as the other Small Flames. And so, Jory must practice extra and try harder. Worst of all, Jory can’t figure out how to defeat Sarc the Purple. Will Jory win his tournament fight and become a Valor Dragon? Or does life have a different plan for him? Find out in this chapter book adventure for kids!

Small Flames is an illustrated set of fantasy adventure books that can be read in any order. Recommended for ages six to ten.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens

77 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 6, 2023

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very good book

This is a really good book. It has a lot of details that help us to imagine the action. We love the pictures. We like how it is happy and sad. We feel a lot of emotions while we read it.

[Margaret Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute book. It would be a great first chapter book for young readers. I loved Jory and his desire to be a valor dragon. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

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

I preread this title before presenting it to my 9 year old son. I accidentally chose to read them backwards, so I finished Enzo the Red first and then this one, with the first book yet to be read. So far, they make good stand alones or you can read them in order of publication. This series has been wonderful so far. With 70 pages each, it captures readers of all ages with appropriate world building and valuable character traits all parents would appreciate like manners, good sportsmanship, friendship, and family support. While Enzo’s themes focused on friendship and dreams, this one was centered around resilience and hard work. I am thrilled with this series so far as I know it will be a perfect match for my children’s independent reading.

[Barbara Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Mighty Fighter Doesn't Have to Be Tall!

I must admit that I enjoyed reading this children's book. The story is about a tiny 10-year-old orange dragon boy named Jory who wants to become a mighty Valor Dragon. He's smaller than all the other dragons in his class, but he is brave and respectful to his classmates and to visiting dragons. This series would make a great animé series. It reminds me of the Naruto animé series where children|young dragons fight in tournaments, except Naruto and the gang ate their share of ramen, while dragons prefer coal and molten lava cakes. I gave this first book of the series a solid 5 star rating.

[Viarnutalon · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Things do not often turn out the way we think they will."

Small Flames: Jory the Orange Dragon is a short and sweet children's story. I found the plot and characters a little too rushed and uninteresting, though the action during the Fire Ridge tournament was fun. I love dragons and simple stories, and the illustrations by Joshua Bostwick are lovely, so I might still check out the other books in the series. I just wish this one had a little more depth and heart to make the story and its characters more compelling and memorable.

What got me to read it: Kindle Unlimited

[Jackie Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m conflicted about this book. It was a cute story that my 5yo appreciated reading before bed, but there was something very off about the way it was written. I wasn’t surprised, then, to find all the online discourse about it possibly being written by AI. I can’t even really put my finger on it, but it feels so underdeveloped. I wrote it off to myself with the excuse that it’s simplistic for children, but even looking back to the ghost-written simple stories of my own childhood, it can’t hold a candle to those stories.

[Book Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 3/10/2025

I am 10 and enjoyed the final book that I plan to read in this series. I read it in one sitting and was enthusiastic to share with my mama every mind blowing event that occurred while reading. It was very striking to me how Rory’s manners made such a difference in his life. It was a fun read!

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cute story for young readers (6-10 age group) with lessons on fairness, friendship, and trying to reach your goals. I love how when the dragons are training at the beginning they are eager to learn and have to learn to let their egos go to accomplish their goals.

I read this book quick because I’m a librarian and I added this to my youth collection and thought it was cute!

[Justin Eberhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

great first chapter book

This story was a perfect first solo read chapter book for my son who is a reading level S. He enjoyed the story, which had enough detail to keep him interested but also a quick pace.

[Purple Paradox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute book! Very quick read but I made it last 4 days, 2 chapters a night.

My son loved it and I loved reading it to him.

Teaching you about respect and honor. Jory had wonderful manners.

[Timothy Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars because the book promotes integrity very well. The story was lackluster. I read this book out loud to my daughter. She wasn’t excited about it. The cliffhangers weren’t. It was too simple.

[Jessica Goetzinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I really enjoyed reading this book together. He read about half of it to me and he kept asking to read more and more because he was so into the story! We can’t wait to start the next book in the Small Flames series!

[Hannah Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pre-read this for my daughter. It’s pretty cute! I like how she explains some of the larger and less-common words she uses to make it easier for beginner readers.

Not a lot of substance to this story at all, but I think it serves its purpose as reading practice.

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love little Jory. Great story on how to work hard for what you want and know not everything works out like it should.

[clarissa fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kid approved

My five and a half year old says, "I like the story because Jory got to become a valor judge and I really like how Jory almost defeated Sarc."

[PottWab Regional Library]

A

[Jennifer Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud. Kids loved it and always wanted one more chapter.

[Larisa Perryman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to read before bed with my 5 year olds.

[Dan Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

The cover is very eye catching, but is an AI generated image. In my opinion I do not support books with AI content. Did not finish.

[I ❤️BOOKS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book! It’s a cute story and is really great! Definitely suggest it for a short little story to read when bored!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book for kids. The main character is polite to everyone. I love how Jory gives kids a good example of how to be competitive in a healthy, respectful way.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish there were more good adult level dragon books

[Ranelle Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute book.

[Becky Dahlquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was OK but read too young for my 11yo.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids and I are loving these stories

[Jenna Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after my 8 year old declared it as his favorite book. The messages in it were great.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I enjoyed reading this book together. It has good lessons of being respectful and good sportsmanship. Ready to read the others in this series.

[Nicole Nagle · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Review

This book was amazing, even though it was the first. Im very exited to read the rest of the series on Kindle

[Kymmi Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cam: “I liked that he didn’t give up and he worked hard even though he was small. The lesson was that things don’t always work out the way you think they will.”

[Kim Hoesly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was funny, it was cool, and so much fun to read