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Monsters of Fife: Sea Dragons
Meet Cat Douglas—monster hunter. A historical fantasy middle-grade adventure, set in Scotland and first in a series by award-winning author Jane Yolen.
Perfect for 8-11-year-old fans of Nevermoor and Lockwood & Co., travel back in time to another part of the world in need of monster-hunting.
Set in 1880s Scotland, a team of classmates battles monsters in their local R&A (Royal and Ancient) chapter--a Scottish monster-hunting society.
Join Cat and her friends as they adventure through a fantastical and historical Scotland in this first installment of the Sea Monsters series.
Perfect for 8-11-year-old fans of Nevermoor and Lockwood & Co., travel back in time to another part of the world in need of monster-hunting.
Set in 1880s Scotland, a team of classmates battles monsters in their local R&A (Royal and Ancient) chapter--a Scottish monster-hunting society.
Join Cat and her friends as they adventure through a fantastical and historical Scotland in this first installment of the Sea Monsters series.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published June 3, 2025
10 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Jane Yolen
972 books3,237 followersJane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 10, 2025
Yolen, Jane and Lowenthal, Celia. Monsters of Fife: Sea Dragons
June 3, 2025 by Charlesbridge Moves
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
In 1890s Anstruther, Scotland, Cat Douglas is excited to be a member of the Royal and Ancient monster hunters squad, which is lead by the teacher of her one room schoolhouse, Mr. Harris. This is especially important to her, since her father was lost at sea. Along with Callum and Jamie, she is prepared to drop everything and go take care of monsters that endanger the local population. The trio is well armed, and even paid for their efforts, which helps out Cat's family a lot. When a farmer has his cow eaten, the hunters find the culprit in a cave, lure him out, kill him, and haul the body off to be used as bait for a menacing sea dragon. When Ann McLeod loses her sons at sea, this creature is to blame. The local culture supports the "no body, no closure" philosophy, so the Royal and Ancient members set out to both find the boys and hopefully take care of the dragon as well. They borrow the McLeod's boat and take off, but are soon dragged out to sea. Ending up at an island, they come across a young dragon choking on a fishing net, which makes it easier to kill him. Having done so, they worry that the dragon's mother might be lurking in the caves on the island. Investigating this leads them to find the McLeod boys, who are alive but not well. They also discover a number of dragon eggs that they smash. In the ensuing battle with the dragon, old family secrets are revealed and Cat proves herself a valuable member of the monster hunters.
Yolen, who has written over 400 books in her 86 years, harnesses her experience of living in Scotland by incorporating a lot of history, local color, and even some dialect into this short novel. There are plenty of details about equipment needed to deal with monsters, and some rather gory chopping up and carting away of said prey, which brings the thrill of the hunt down to earth.
Lowenthal's art appears in several graphic novel style spreads, including the one that ends the book, as well as a couple of full page illustrations. The end papers mimic the beautiful marbled designs found in vintage books, and the cover under the desk jacket looks like it is embossed with a dragon's head. Even the reverse of the dust jacket is well designed-- there is a poster for the book, and the sequels will also have covers that can all be displayed to form one larger poster.
Monster and dragon books are always popular. Kagawa's Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl and Fournet's Marius Gray series are a bit long, but Monsters of Fife is just right for readers who prefer shorter fantasy books like Yep's A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of HumansA Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans, the Tsangs' Dragon Realm series, and Soontornvat's The Legends of Lotus Island.
While I have loved a lot of Yolen's work, this reads like a title I might have seen thirty years ago; it hurt my heart when Cat and her fellow hunters were smashing the dragon eggs! My students are far more likely to want to befriend and train a dragon than to kill it and cut it up for bait. The Scottish dialect might be hard for some readers; I knew what a "clootie" was, but some of my students would probably stop cold and return the book, especially since it took some time to figure out that this was set in the 1890s.
June 3, 2025 by Charlesbridge Moves
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
In 1890s Anstruther, Scotland, Cat Douglas is excited to be a member of the Royal and Ancient monster hunters squad, which is lead by the teacher of her one room schoolhouse, Mr. Harris. This is especially important to her, since her father was lost at sea. Along with Callum and Jamie, she is prepared to drop everything and go take care of monsters that endanger the local population. The trio is well armed, and even paid for their efforts, which helps out Cat's family a lot. When a farmer has his cow eaten, the hunters find the culprit in a cave, lure him out, kill him, and haul the body off to be used as bait for a menacing sea dragon. When Ann McLeod loses her sons at sea, this creature is to blame. The local culture supports the "no body, no closure" philosophy, so the Royal and Ancient members set out to both find the boys and hopefully take care of the dragon as well. They borrow the McLeod's boat and take off, but are soon dragged out to sea. Ending up at an island, they come across a young dragon choking on a fishing net, which makes it easier to kill him. Having done so, they worry that the dragon's mother might be lurking in the caves on the island. Investigating this leads them to find the McLeod boys, who are alive but not well. They also discover a number of dragon eggs that they smash. In the ensuing battle with the dragon, old family secrets are revealed and Cat proves herself a valuable member of the monster hunters.
Yolen, who has written over 400 books in her 86 years, harnesses her experience of living in Scotland by incorporating a lot of history, local color, and even some dialect into this short novel. There are plenty of details about equipment needed to deal with monsters, and some rather gory chopping up and carting away of said prey, which brings the thrill of the hunt down to earth.
Lowenthal's art appears in several graphic novel style spreads, including the one that ends the book, as well as a couple of full page illustrations. The end papers mimic the beautiful marbled designs found in vintage books, and the cover under the desk jacket looks like it is embossed with a dragon's head. Even the reverse of the dust jacket is well designed-- there is a poster for the book, and the sequels will also have covers that can all be displayed to form one larger poster.
Monster and dragon books are always popular. Kagawa's Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl and Fournet's Marius Gray series are a bit long, but Monsters of Fife is just right for readers who prefer shorter fantasy books like Yep's A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of HumansA Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans, the Tsangs' Dragon Realm series, and Soontornvat's The Legends of Lotus Island.
While I have loved a lot of Yolen's work, this reads like a title I might have seen thirty years ago; it hurt my heart when Cat and her fellow hunters were smashing the dragon eggs! My students are far more likely to want to befriend and train a dragon than to kill it and cut it up for bait. The Scottish dialect might be hard for some readers; I knew what a "clootie" was, but some of my students would probably stop cold and return the book, especially since it took some time to figure out that this was set in the 1890s.
June 29, 2025
In an alt-world Scotland in the late 19th century, Cat attends a school in her small town that trains monster hunters--she's learning to be the bait. Normally the monsters they deal with are not that big and not that bright, but now they have word that a sea dragon has been spotted--and it's taken two local fisher boys. So a group from the academy starts out to hunt some dragons.
I love Scotland and I love fantasy, so this would seem like a good fit for me, but it wasn't. I was confused about why it was only kids in the monster-fighting school when there were plenty of able-bodied adults around; who sends 12 year olds likely to their death when capable adults stay home? The action was well-described but got pretty gory, more horror story than fantasy, which also didn't work for me. In addition, when I heard that dragons hadn't been spotted for years and years, I felt very uncomfortable with the idea of wiping them out completely. Maybe if they'd been called something other than dragons? Anyway, not really successful for me, though the narrator had a lovely accent. I missed the illustrations, too, since I was listening to the audiobook. Thanks to Libro.FM for a free educator copy of the audiobook.
I love Scotland and I love fantasy, so this would seem like a good fit for me, but it wasn't. I was confused about why it was only kids in the monster-fighting school when there were plenty of able-bodied adults around; who sends 12 year olds likely to their death when capable adults stay home? The action was well-described but got pretty gory, more horror story than fantasy, which also didn't work for me. In addition, when I heard that dragons hadn't been spotted for years and years, I felt very uncomfortable with the idea of wiping them out completely. Maybe if they'd been called something other than dragons? Anyway, not really successful for me, though the narrator had a lovely accent. I missed the illustrations, too, since I was listening to the audiobook. Thanks to Libro.FM for a free educator copy of the audiobook.
May 25, 2025
I really liked the pacing and the characters were fun. The pictures were cool, and I think that it is a great example for little writers of having a clear start, middle, and end, along with clear conflict.
However, I thought it was going to be like How To Train Your Dragon, but they are killing the dragons. It's pretty graphically described too. They are not clean kills- the many stabs required to finally slay the beats are described, and the finals moments of sufferings of the dragons while enduring this are described too. The big monster they're after is the mother of the dragon they slaughtered earlier in the novel, and it's sad because the author makes it clear that the mother dragon is trying to get revenge.
There is also a thread of grief throughout, as the main character's dad was lost at seas when she was very young.
Overall, I think this is a fine swashbuckling tale for older readers, but I would use caution, especially as it comes to the violence.
*Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Penguin Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
However, I thought it was going to be like How To Train Your Dragon, but they are killing the dragons. It's pretty graphically described too. They are not clean kills- the many stabs required to finally slay the beats are described, and the finals moments of sufferings of the dragons while enduring this are described too. The big monster they're after is the mother of the dragon they slaughtered earlier in the novel, and it's sad because the author makes it clear that the mother dragon is trying to get revenge.
There is also a thread of grief throughout, as the main character's dad was lost at seas when she was very young.
Overall, I think this is a fine swashbuckling tale for older readers, but I would use caution, especially as it comes to the violence.
*Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Penguin Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
June 20, 2025
Thank you to netgalley for an arc in exchange for a review!
This book is perfect for kids who love stories with monsters and thrilling missions. I found the world building to be particularly interesting and I definitely think it was draw more kids to read a book with its premise. Our main character Cat is 13 years old and perseveres in her role as the bait despite what others might think she is capable of.
I found the story to have good stakes that would have younger me locked in and hooked by the events. The descriptions and sequences of events were detailed and didn’t get dull.
Art in books is always a bonus and the art here really adds to the book, it’s really cool and will help kids visualise what’s happening in the story better.
Definitely a book I would recommend to help interest kids into reading if they like monsters and missions. Some of the descriptions might be a bit gory for some kids so that’s something to keep in mind.
This book is perfect for kids who love stories with monsters and thrilling missions. I found the world building to be particularly interesting and I definitely think it was draw more kids to read a book with its premise. Our main character Cat is 13 years old and perseveres in her role as the bait despite what others might think she is capable of.
I found the story to have good stakes that would have younger me locked in and hooked by the events. The descriptions and sequences of events were detailed and didn’t get dull.
Art in books is always a bonus and the art here really adds to the book, it’s really cool and will help kids visualise what’s happening in the story better.
Definitely a book I would recommend to help interest kids into reading if they like monsters and missions. Some of the descriptions might be a bit gory for some kids so that’s something to keep in mind.
May 12, 2025
I received an electronic ARC from Charlesbridge through NetGalley.
Yolen captures the suspense and danger of hunting monsters in 1890's Scotland. She offers a brief history to start the story so readers understand how they got there. We then meet the Royal & Ancient Monster Hunters team who have just added their newest member. Cat lives here with her mother and grandmother after her father was lost at sea. She is in training and gets experience with killing a monster early on. From here, they face bigger dragons and finally the massive mother sea dragon.
I appreciate Yolen's pace as she builds the tension and keeps the focus on the reality and danger involved. Her characters slowly reveal more of themselves and the team bonds continue to forge. A shorter read that will pull readers in so they feel they are part of the adventures.
Yolen captures the suspense and danger of hunting monsters in 1890's Scotland. She offers a brief history to start the story so readers understand how they got there. We then meet the Royal & Ancient Monster Hunters team who have just added their newest member. Cat lives here with her mother and grandmother after her father was lost at sea. She is in training and gets experience with killing a monster early on. From here, they face bigger dragons and finally the massive mother sea dragon.
I appreciate Yolen's pace as she builds the tension and keeps the focus on the reality and danger involved. Her characters slowly reveal more of themselves and the team bonds continue to forge. A shorter read that will pull readers in so they feel they are part of the adventures.
October 3, 2025
I didn't particularly enjoy this book. While the narrative was clear and the story flowed logically and naturally... I think that's it, actually. I think the arc of the story worked but not a lot else.
Characters were generally flat and unmemorable. The descriptions didn't do a lot to, what's the word, describe. I was more confused than interested by the "graphic elements" of the book; they added next to nothing to the story, and chose unexciting moments to show. Why show hanging out on a farm when you could show fighting a dragon? Was this a weird editorial decision? Is there a world in which this whole book is a graphic novel? And is that book as bland and unmemorable as this one?
Characters were generally flat and unmemorable. The descriptions didn't do a lot to, what's the word, describe. I was more confused than interested by the "graphic elements" of the book; they added next to nothing to the story, and chose unexciting moments to show. Why show hanging out on a farm when you could show fighting a dragon? Was this a weird editorial decision? Is there a world in which this whole book is a graphic novel? And is that book as bland and unmemorable as this one?
July 20, 2025
On paper this should be a book for me, sea dragons and middle grade and fun, right? I just couldn't get into this one. I find that I always think I'm going to like Yolen's books more than I do and I'm not sure why as so many others just love her. I think it is a me problem and not a book problem. If this at all interests you, please pick it up. It has themes of girls can do everything that boys can, has some science and somewhat engineering, if sparsely written about and other things that really should work for me. I just am not sure why they don't.
June 13, 2025
First of all, I'd like to thank NetGalley for receiving an ARC for this book
I really liked this. The story was involving and addictive. Pace of the book was fast and perfect for a binge read (especially if you get hooked up into it). It was fun, for me an adult and will definitely be a valued read for younger readers and How to Train Your Dragon fans!
I like how the author coped with harder topics like grief and death.
Overall, I recommend it for everyone <3
I really liked this. The story was involving and addictive. Pace of the book was fast and perfect for a binge read (especially if you get hooked up into it). It was fun, for me an adult and will definitely be a valued read for younger readers and How to Train Your Dragon fans!
I like how the author coped with harder topics like grief and death.
Overall, I recommend it for everyone <3
June 3, 2025
This one was fun. I am a great fan of how to train your dragons books, and this one is Brave meets that series. Action, dragons, fun scenes, hilarious characters. Adventurous.
I read it with librofm audios
I read it with librofm audios
January 8, 2026
This is a great Hi-lo book--short, exciting with quick chapters similar in length to a beginning chapter book, but the characters are in their early teens and facing a somewhat gory adventure fighting monsters. Good for low-level readers who might be intimidated with typically large fantasy tomes.
October 28, 2025
Adventure!!
January 9, 2026
Interesting story. Good offering for students who are solely graphic novel readers. Set in Scotland and includes this dialect which increases the complexity for students.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews