Vortex of the Chaos Dragon: A Branches Book

Dragon Masters #30

by Tracey West, Graham Howells (illustrator)

Drake and Worm face off against the evil wizard Maldred with the help of the mysterious Chaos Dragon in the latest action-packed installment of this New York Times bestselling series perfect for newly independent readers!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!The evil wizard Maldred has been turned into one hundred mini-Maldreds! Dragon Masters around the world are battling them, and it’s up to Drake, Worm, and their friends to stop Maldred once and for all. Drake, Rori, Bo, Ana, and their dragons travel to Goryeo to meet the Chaos Dragon Seong-Min and her Dragon Master Ji-Min. Seong-Min is the only dragon powerful enough to stop the chaos the Maldreds are causing! But Ji-Min warns that the Chaos Dragon is very difficult to control, even for her. Will Drake and his friends convince Ji-Min to help them defeat the Maldreds? What will happen when the Chaos Dragon uses his powers?With engaging black-and-white artwork on every page, kids won't be able to put down this page-turning adventure!

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

101 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 30, 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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! Super excited to read book 31 when it comes out! Dragon Masters is a very fun series!

[Efox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is absolutely one of our favorites. In August we re-read all 29 of them and for several this was probably our 10th+ re-read. The adventures of Drake, Rory, Bo, and Anna continue to engage my kids and be both comforting and familiar while being new and exciting.

The Chaos Dragon was great. What an interesting dragon and a fascinating concept to introduce in a thoughtful way. Thanks Tracey West for continuing this series. We still love it and can't wait to see what comes next. We hope the Chaos Vortex is more powerful than the Earthquake Dragon, but we love leaving the door open for more fun adventures.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my son (spoiler alerts):

I really like this book, start to finish, because I like the pictures and how the dragon splits into two at the end. I’m a big fan of Tracey West. She is very cool. This is the thirtieth Dragon Masters book and I’ve read the rest of them. I love the characters in this one especially and the challenges of balance that Drake and his friends faced at the beginning. Can’t wait until the swamp dragon! The end.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to review all the books because I didn't want to do a review for every book. So I think this is a good series so far, and I don't know when Tracey is going to stop making this series because if you saw, this is the 30th book, and they just came out with a 31. Oh my goodness Tracey! I don't really have anything to say about this series though, but I think others should read it because I'm addicted! I can't wait for the other books to come out!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my 8yo daughter. We savored revisiting this beloved series together in its latest installment. I really appreciate the nuanced plot, developed characters and balance of chaos and order. These early illustrated chapter books are filled with adventure, dragons and delight. Definitely recommend to early elementary readers!

[Pamela Zeiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

We listened to the audiobook and completed it right after starting. My 7 year old was very into the story. We are wondering if this was the last book in the series. We hope not.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great adventure. This books are so easy to listen to and short enough for a trip during the traffic hour.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter, age 5, continues to love this series.

[Hannah Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun! The mini-Maldreds were a fun and creative villain. The dragon was a cool new twist on the dragons. A very enjoyable addition to the series!

[Joseph Srour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book!

[Andrea Bearman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent story, I really enjoyed this and so did my son.

It brought so many stories together and the chaos dragon was the best. New favorite. We are excited for the next one!

[Trevor Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son really liked this. We read it together while on vacation. It's chapters are short and concise, making it easy to pick up and read a few when you have only a little spare time.