Haunting of the Ghost Dragon: A Branches Book

Dragon Masters #27

by Tracey West, Graham Howells (illustrator)

In the latest action-packed installment of this New York Times bestselling series, Drake and Worm encounter a mysterious Ghost Dragon!

Pick a book. Grow a Reader!

This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

Zoltan, an evil wizard, has stolen a Dream Orb! With the orb, Zoltan has access to the Dream World -- a place that is forbidden to all wizards. Drake and Bo travel to Zoltan's castle in Gothica to stop him. There, they meet Dragon Master Sandor and his Ghost Dragon Phantom. Is Phantom a ghost or a dragon? Can Drake and Bo find the orb and stop Zoltan before he opens the Dream Gate?

With engaging black-and-white artwork on every page, kids won't be able to put down this page-turning adventure!

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

96 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2024

About the author

Tracey West is the New York Times bestselling author of Dragon Masters, a series in the Scholastic Branches line. She has written more than 400 books for kids, including the Pixie Tricks series and the Underdogs series with Kyla May.

Some readers also know Tracey for writing books based on animation such as Pokémon and LEGO Ninjago.

She currently lives in the western Catskills of New York with her husband, Bill; their adopted dogs; and a whole mess of chickens.

Reviews

[Bronwyn]

Galen read on March 29, 2025.

[Olivia]

See my full review here: https://yabookscentral.com/haunting-o...

HAUNTING OF THE GHOST DRAGON is another delightful installment in the DRAGON MASTERS series. Bo and Drake have been tasked with retrieving the Dream Orb, which was stolen by the wizard Zoltan. Zoltan lives in a castle full of ghosts, which makes this a daunting task - luckily, Bo and Drake have dragons whose magic will help!

When they arrive, the encounter another dragon master with a ghostly dragon who is trying to scare them away. With some quick thinking and further conversation, they end up finding a friend, and together, they all try to stop Zoltan from activating the Dream Orb, which could be very dangerous!

What I loved: This book/series is a really great chapter book for early independent readers. Every page features an illustration, and the font is large and clear, making it easier for children to process and read. Additionally, the language is simplified with lots of repetition of key words to make the reading more smooth. This is a great pick for children embarking on their chapter book journey.

Furthermore, the storyline and plot are perfect for this early elementary school age with dragons, magic, and light peril. A bit of humor is infused throughout to keep it from getting scary or too heavy. This story was very engaging and kept the pages turning as readers seek to discover what will happen next with lots of twists and turns and clever thinking needed as the Dragon Masters encounter the unexpected. A new friend/dragon adds to the fun with some great new magic, skills, and personality.

The illustrations are also really fantastic throughout with plenty of detail and capturing the key scenes. These will help readers who are starting out on chapter books by providing context for the words and giving them natural reading breaks. Short chapters are also really well done herein.

Final verdict: HAUNTING OF THE GHOST DRAGON is a charming and engaging chapter book with an entertaining plot and fantastic illustrations. Highly recommend this and the series for early independent chapter book readers!

Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.

[siwoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

at the last battle zolten was the most exciting and fun

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so weird. This dragon's powers involve stopping ghosts and going through walls? Why does that even exist? The dragon master looks suspiciously like Dr. Strange though he's not actually like Dr. Strange at all. Drake was suspiciously unphased by all the ghosts. I guess he's already seen some pretty weird stuff so maybe it's not that surprising. This book was even weirder than I expected, but I guess some points for creativity?

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another solid installment in a favorite series to read with my first grader. Bo and Drake take on an evil wizard Zoltan as he attempts to steal the dream orb. They have a confrontational encounter with the ghost dragon and his dragon master… that ultimately develops into an alliance. The dragons have interesting powers and the three boys work together in a battle of good vs. evil.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

I read this with my 9 year old son. Here’s his review.

I liked that Drake, Worm, Bo, and Shu helped Sandor and Phantom. I liked the pictures because they help you visualize what’s happening. The book flows smoothly and there is a lot of action and adventure.

[Audrey Chan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75⭐️!! These books were my favorite from like 7-8. It doesn’t appeal as much to me now. And I feel like the author keeps dragging on this series. This is book like 27 and the first 6-7 books are still the best in this series. A nice walk down memory lane but the writing just isn’t as good.

[Pamela Zeiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 6 yeard said it was a good adventure. I would have to agree, I thought it was adventurous right from the start until the end.

[Efox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun installment in one of our favorite series! I managed to hide this one all the way until Christmas, but once it was opened it was the first of our Christmas book haul that we read.

I love the way Tracy West uses familiar characters (now very familiar in installment 27) to introduce the new characters or concepts. This book is all for the spooky kids - the ones who love ghosts and ghouls and drafty castles and not being sure who the bad guys are - but in the adventurous safe way of having Drake and Bo and their steady soothing dragons there to even things out.

We're already committed to this series for at least 3 more installments and I'm sure it will be re-read many times while we wait for the next book to come out.

[Sterling McPhedran · Rating 5 out of 5]

*spoiler
My favourite part was when the ghost dragon squirted ghost-goop on Zoltan. Zoltan is a bad wizard. This is my favourite Dragon Masters so far!

[Gatlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great clean story. It was fitting, and connected the puzzle pieces to the next book. I love it when kids come together with their dragons and awesome powers. This book was truly haunted.

[Susan Companion · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is good beginner chapter book for kids. The mystery will keep children interested and engaged!

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

We finished them all so far! Wow, my five-year-old loves this series. Drake and Worm are his favorites, followed by Bo and Shu. Now we have to find something new.

[Carlee Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

My afterschool child forced me to read this so I guess I’ll be reading more of these soon. 😅

[PottWab Regional Library]

A

[Kendra M Layden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating from my 8 yr old! Audiobooks are great!

[Lisa Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are all caught up with the series and waiting on the next one

[Eddie Chang · Rating 5 out of 5]

e

Eggs and cheese with cheese on it is so delicious I can’t even imagine how it tastes
unless I eat them

[Amy Esper · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are my go-to audiobooks for traveling with my kids. It is perfect for their age, they understand and enjoy these books, and the narrator is great. Keep making these!

[Ashlee Seelos · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 year old loves this series

[Stacy Hickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This chapter book series always brings small adventures in my life. They are a great fantasy fiction for beginning readers, but they are also enjoyable reads for all reading levels.

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7 year old son continues to enjoy the adventures of these dragons and their masters.