Magic of the Wizard Dragon: A Branches Book

Dragon Masters #29

by Tracey West, Graham Howells (illustrator)

In the latest action-packed installment of this New York Times bestselling series perfect for newly independent readers, Drake and Worm battle the powerful Wizard 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 the wizard is now a Wizard Dragon! As a dragon, he plans to free the evil wizard Maldred. Drake and Worm meet Zoltan's son, Wolfgang, who wants to help stop his father! So Drake, Worm, and Wolfgang travel to Barga, where they meet an Earth Dragon named Kinguq and her Dragon Master Nanu. Kinguq and Nanu guard a secret door to the powerful Earthquake Dragon, called the Naga. It is also where Maldred is trapped. Can Drake, Wolfgang, and Nanu stop Zoltan from opening the door? What will happen if Maldred gets released?

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, Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

Published August 5, 2025

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

[Lucy]

Amazing book! I wish I didn’t have to wait for book 30!

[Diana]

My kids can’t believe we are on book 29. Another fun read! These books are so easy to get into and although we had caught up with the series and had to wait for this one, we didn’t get lost or couldn’t understand what was happening.

[Aimee Guarnaccio]

Take it for what it is—fast fiction—and you’ll be able to enjoy mild entertainment, an age-appropriate introduction to the fantasy genre, and an early chapter book that functions as both a read aloud and practice for emerging readers.

[siwoon]

i was so surprised when Maldred got out of the cave and transported into anywhere.

[E Money The Cat]

I got 99 problems, and each one’s a fly that has turned into an evil wizard.

🪰

[Ashley]

This is a great kids book. As an adult, I found humor in how the characters were portrayed. I also found it quite humorous that they didn't ride a single dragon. Just used them to help teleport. #POOF

[Pamela Zeiger]

My 7 years old loves the series.

[Bindi Burkes]

“I need the next book absolutely right now”

[Becky B]

The Dragon Masters are racing to stop newly dragonified Zoltan from releasing the evil wizard Maldred from his prison. Drake and Worm are joined by Wolfgang (Zoltan's son) who wants to help stop his father from doing more harm. They travel to Barga where Woflgang heard his father found a secret entrance to Maldred's prison. There they are joined by Dragon Master Nuna and dragon Kinguq who guard the door. But can they stop Zoltan in time?

I have to applaud West in not making a lower grade adventure entirely predictable. There were a few twists and turns in the plot I didn't see coming, which is so rare in lower grade fiction. It makes it feel a touch more sophisticated in plot. And I liked how this one ended up going.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: A dragon is made sick with magic. There are perilous circumstances but everyone ends up fine.
Ethnic diversity: Drake is European-ish, Nuna appears to be Inuit, other Dragon Masters are from various other cultures on Earth.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified.
Other: Grief channeled in wrong directions is part of the plot.

[Efox]

Continue to love this series. Another fun installment of adventure with Drake and Worm and their dragon and wizard friends. This time, to try and stop the Wizard Dragon, Drake teams up with a young wizard from the school and they meet another earth dragon. Extremely fun, already excited for the next one.

We actually read all previous 28 books before reading this one, and it was really fun to revisit some of our favorite stories. Waking the Rainbow Dragon continues to be one of our favorites, and my daughter decided to do Eye of the Earthquake Dragon for her summer homework book report. After several series with them and noticing some really repetitive story lines (not that there's anything wrong with that, because sometimes you just want comfort reading) I noticed this time that while formulaic, these stories are actually pretty diverse and they are all quite different from each other. The adventures are interesting and varied and West does a great job of integrating both geographic diversity and highlighting all types of kids.

[Becky]

Another solid entry into the Dragon Masters canon. In this story Drake attempts to stop the Zoltan’s (in wizard dragon form) effort to free Maldred from the Naga’s lair. Zoltan’s son makes an appearance and attempts to rationalize with his dad’s emotional side. I think it’s important to have read previous books from the series to appreciate many of the side characters and the gravity of the situation. I read a hard copy of the book from the library… and this is the first my 7.5yo daughter wanted to read by herself instead of aloud together (cue the tears!).

[Alice Smith]

In Magic of the Wizard Dragon, bestselling author Tracey West takes readers back to the exciting land of Dragon Masters. When the wizard dragon’s mysterious powers begin to grow, the fate of the kingdom rests in the hands of brave young heroes. Packed with thrilling twists, magical creatures, and fast-paced fun, this Branches Book is perfect for young readers who love fantasy adventures and dragons.

[Hannah Watson]

It had been a minute since we last read Dragon Masters, and I was afraid that we'd forgotten the plot. But this book nicely encapsulated its own plot, and we didn't have to try to look back or remember anything. It was nice to see the character arc for the Wizard Dragon, and the return of Maldred was a fun callback that didn't need any sort of previous reference. The end was a bit odd, but forgivably sily.

[Road Worrier]

Fun kids book. Hard to hold my interest as an adult (thus my low rating which is for me not my kids) but my kids like it and it doesn't have characters that are too mean spirited taking up lots of the writing. There are villains with vaguely understandable motivations which is better than none and our protagonists always try to do the right thing.

[Rick Berry]

I don’t know what the hell is happening anymore. I like the series though. One of the best 2-star books I’ve read.

[Paxton Cabigon]

They’re not even close to winning this

[Joseph Srour]

Sick Book!

[PottWab Regional Library]

SM

[Kaitlyn]

I listened to this with my 10-year-old son. They are quick, easy reads. That entertain him.