The Clockwork Dragon

by Jonathan Emmett, Elys Dolan (Illustrator)

Max and Lizzie's kingdom is being terrorized by a ferocious dragon named Flamethrottle. But if you think they are frightened you had better think again! They have a daring plan to chase that dastardly dragon out of town . . .

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

35 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2015

About the author

Jonathan Emmett was born in Leicestershire in 1965, the son of a factory fitter and a primary school teacher.

Jonathan loved books from an early age and some of his earliest memories are of visiting his local library. The picture books that he borrowed then, including Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss and Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson have had a great influence on the picture books that he now writes.

It was while Jonathan was at college, studying architecture, that he first started developing his own illustrated texts, illustrating poems and lyrics that he’d written. Pleased with the results, he found himself spending more and more time on writing and illustration. Although he qualified as an architect, he found the job unsatisfying and began pursuing a career in children's books in his spare time, eventually going full-time in 1995, a few months before his thirtieth birthday.

As well as writing picture books such as Bringing Down the Moon, Someone Bigger, Pigs Might Fly and Ruby Flew Too, Jonathan also writes and paper-engineers pop-up books. His books have won several awards including the Red House Children’s Book Award “Book for Younger Children” for Pigs Might Fly and the Kiekeboekprijs for Bringing Down the Moon.

He now lives in Nottingham with his wife, Rachel, and children, Max and Laura.

You can visit Jonathan’s website atjonathanemmett.com

Reviews

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Emmettin "Vieterilohikäärme" (Mäkelä, 2018) on kohtalaisen onnistunut kuvakirja Max-nimisestä pojasta, joka saa potkut lelutehtaalta leikittyään liikaa mekaanisilla leluilla. Niinpä on aihetta etsiä uusi työpaikka ritarina, sillä kaupunkia piinaa hirmuinen lohikäärme Tulikita. Kuinka sellaisen voi päihittää? Tietenkin itse rakennetun vieterilohikäärmeen avulla!

Suomalaisen kustantajan peruslinjasta poiketen on tässä tarinassa vähän särmääkin mukana, onhan Tulikita sentään ihan rehti ihmissyöjä, jonka luolan suulta voi löytää luurangon jos toisenkin.

[Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lost star is because it starts oddly, kinda disjointed and then once we get to the proper story it is lovely and I wish there had been an exchange of the initial pages for better pages, but anyway. It is a clockwork dragon, what else do you really need to say? That's basically why I bought it, and I do not regret it one bit!

[Jasmine]

Funny. And friendship. I kinda expected a novel-length story, because the idea of a clockwork dragon is so compelling. This is a picture book. JSYK.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third book in the Elys Dolan quest! I spotted this gem in the bookstore (Magics!) and went squee. Yes, I went squee in a store. :P

This book is all about a little boy who instead of making clocks wants to make toys. Of course he gets fired at his workplace but then finds a nice new job: Dragon hunting. Or specifically one dragon that is terrorising the surrounding area. And thus the story really begins, a story of inventing things, of being creative, smart, and I just love the boy, and also the girl. They were brave, they were smart, and they didn't give up when things went wrong for a bit.

Their plan to get rid of the dragon was just brilliant and I loved it. If you can't beat him being a knight, then think of something different! Think bigger, think grander.

It also seemed the dragon was either not that smart, or he has gotten cocky and thought he couldn't be beaten.

The ending was cute, and I was delighted with what happened there. Haha, no no spoilers. You will have to check out the book yourself to see what it is about.

This was quite a delight and I would recommend it to everyone. Smart, inventive kids + dragons = lots of fun.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com

[Tapani Aulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarjakuvan ja kuvakirjan välimuoto, jossa tarinassa on yllättävänkin paljon vetoa. Ei ehkä aivan pienimmille välttämättä edes sovi.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kustannus Mäkelän kuvakirjaksi tässä voisi sanoa jopa olleen asennetta! Max-poika potkitaan lelutehtaalta pois, koska hän ei ole noudattanut annettuja ohjeita vaan on käyttänyt luovuttaan vietereiden ja rattaiden parissa. Max hakee töitä, mutta kaupungin ilmoitustaululla on vain yksi vapaa työpaikka - lohikäärmeen häätäjän pesti. Max päättää ottaa työn vastaan ja käyttää omaa luovuuttaan ja erikoisosaamistaan. Seikkailuhan siitä syntyy.

Lukiessani tätä pohdin jopa hetkellisesti, onko tämä huijaaminen ja viekkaus ihailtava piirre vai annanko tällä tarinalla huonoja vaikutuksia kuulijakunnalle. Nähtäväksi jää, mitä tarinasta opittiin...

[Eliza Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's nothing I particularly dislike about this book that makes me give it 2 stars, but it didn't live up to my high hopes for it. The cover looks cool, the name sounds like an indie band, but the language is bland and the story is predictable. The things I liked most were the startled cows and polar bears.

[Samuel Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do you do to scare away a dragon? Get an even bigger dragon! This is the thought process of Max and Lizzie who find themselves out of work and the only job available, that of a dragon slayer. The premise of ‘The Clockwork Dragon’ is a simple enough one; an alternative medieval times that has magic and clockwork technology. I enjoyed Jonathan Emmett’s story, it was fun seeing the children tricking the bad dragon into helping them out. As a modern take on a folktale, it is well told.

However, the visuals are not as much to my taste. Elys Dolan does fill each of the pages with plenty of colour and there is loads going on all over the place; you will spend a lot of the time finding new things. However, the choice to slightly misprint the colours was very off putting. All the colours do not quite fit into the lines, like there was a misalignment at the printing press. This was a choice by the authors, but it was genuinely off-putting to me and kept throwing me out of the magical world as my brain tried to figure out what was wrong.

A 32 page children’s book like ‘The Clockwork Dragon’ relies on both story and images; one without the other is just not enough. Therefore, although it is a decent enough story, the illustrations do hamper the overall appeal.

[boeken lezen (en onthouden) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Verrassend geliefd.

Goed om Engels te leren want:
- slaat aan bij een jongetje dat zot is van mechaniek, draken & andere Gevaarlijke Beesten.

Dat viel dan weer tegen:
Dit is een boek dat naar eigen zeggen is aangepast voor de beginnende leerder Engels, wel eerder hoger klassen van de lagere school. Zelf vond ik het desondanks nogal ingewikkeld en een beetje opvallend van we-steken-er-wat-moeilijke-woorden-in. Ik denk dat het een sterker boekje geweest was als de tekeningen meer spraken en de tekst miniemer was geweest.

[Johara Almogbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short picturebook about an innovative kid who saves the town with the only person who believed in him. I liked it!