Search for the Lightning Dragon: A Branches Book

Dragon Masters #7

by Tracey West, Damien Jones (Illustrator)

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!

In book #7, the Dragon Masters have to track down the Lightning Dragon! But first, they need to find his Dragon Master -- a boy named Carlos. The Lightning Dragon shoots dangerous sparks of energy! Will Carlos be able to connect with his wild dragon? Or does a darker master have plans for the Lightning Dragon?

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Chapter Books, Dragons, Middle Grade, Fiction, Adventure

104 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2017

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

[Ashley G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adorably illustrated baby lightning dragon, so cute!

In this book we have a baby dragon creating chaos. We get a new city and a new dragon master, Carlos. A loyal boy who doesn't want to leave his grandmother, because he helps her with her chores.

Foreshadowing about the adversary at the end of this book by mentioning Dragon Masters that Griffith trained years ago. A great setup for the next book in the series.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the seventh installment of the series Dragon Masters, the Lightening Dragon is scared and running. The Dragon Masters must find the Lightening Dragon. They also must find the new Dragon Master! So much excitement in one book! There’s even an exciting twist at the end, I won’t tell you about, but you will be anxious for the next book!!

[Bronwyn]

Galen read August 24-26, 2024.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I like lightning dragons. I did not like this book because I did not like the part when Echo, which is the an evil dragon master, stole the lightning dragon.

[Mr. Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super slow start, but concluded by an awesome ending.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh do we ever love these books! A few years ago I read this series to my son. My youngest daughter really enjoyed it and the three of us read them. This year my youngest has been reading them to me. And we found out that our nephew has been reading them and is only 1 book ahead of us. He is reading the physical books and We are reading the eBook editions. It is a great story in a wonderful series.

I have said it before, and I state it again, ‘this series really has staying power’. I have read some of the stories 4 or 5 times now. And have been reading them for over 4 years. And I still enjoy the stories as do my children. My son who thought he had outgrown these stories has been sitting in and listening to his sister read them to me again lately. It is great to know that my brother’s family loves them as much as ours. It is fascinating to watch the kids interact and compare notes about the books that they are both reading.

One of the really nice things about this series is that it is a true series. In that each story builds upon the next. Now yes that are strong enough to be read on their own, but as a whole we get to watch the growth of the group as they come together as a team and learn to work together and support each other. And in this one we meet a new dragon master selected for the Lightening Dragon we meet in the last volume.

In this volume Drake and the other Dragon masters are searching for the new Dragon Master that the dragon stone has selected. They need to find him to help find the young lightening dragon. They soon find Carlow, but he is hesitant to believe in Dragons and once he believes in them, he does not want to leave his abuela alone. The dragon masters have split up into teams and are trying to find the young dragon before he causes more harm and damage. Drake and Diego are looking for the new master. But soon they encounter a new adversary and she wields a lot of power and flies a thunder dragon.

Another excellent read in a great series. These are excellent book for young readers, but also entertaining enough for older readers. I am impressed with the staying power of this series. After multiple reads over several years I still really enjoy returning to the Dragon Masters. And look forward too many more reads in this series, as my daughter is insistent she will read them all to me!

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Tracey West.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son read the whole series, so I'm pausing with my adult reads and flying through these to have our first book-talks as father and son. It's wonderful! We talk about each one, and he loves that I'm finding out stuff that he's already read. He now understands the concept of spoilers and has some fun with those.

[Maximilian Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good compared to the other books in the series. (the story was better) It wasn't that good because it wasn't as exiting as the other books. Overall, the book was OK.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mexico or Spain

[Aubrey Leger · Rating 5 out of 5]

there is a new dragon master

[Ashton Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rear with Leto. Great like all the rest.

[Christine Rains · Rating 4 out of 5]

A baby Lightning Dragon is loose in the world and it is causing havoc. How will the young Dragon Masters catch it? And will the newly chosen Dragon Master Carlos be able to connect with the hatchling?

A wonderful addition to this children's fantasy series. My seven-year-old son is loving the books, and he thought the baby dragon was very cute. He had no idea how they were going to catch it, but he was happy to figure it out along with Drake.

[LEO · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an interesting ending because the baby lightning dragon was stolen. I think it was Griffith's old student.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please note that this review is written for my use as a librarian and may not appeal directly to readers. Please review at your own risk.

Accelerated Reader has this book listed as being for lower grades, or readers in Kindergarten to 3rd grade. They also have listed that this read is worth 1 AR point.

I loved the little lightning dragon. He’s a cute one! I also like that Carlos is the first dragon master that is more tied to his home than he is willing to come to Bracken. I liked that he was allowed to make that choice and he wasn’t forced to serve the king. The theft at the end of the book adds a new dimension to these books that is very interesting.

Caution Notes*:
None - very small children may be frightened or sad, but that’s about it.

Recommended for:
First and second graders who are into dragons, monsters, or fantasy creatures.

Summary:

In this story, the dragon masters continue to look for the lightning dragon. They decide that they have to find the lightning dragon’s dragon master in order to calm and contain the lightning dragon. They follow both dragon and look for the master in the land that the wizard Diego hails from. With the help of a gull, they find the new dragon master, Carlos. While Carlos has no desire to leave home, he wants to help the little dragon. After Worm absorbs some of the lightning dragon’s energy, the dragon calms down enough to connect with Carlos. He names the dragon Lalo and they decide that while they cannot travel to Bracken to train with the other dragon masters, they will live with Diego and train there. However, before they can settle in, a strange woman on a thunder dragon appears and steals Lalo.

---

*Caution notes are not to say, don’t read the book. I only include these so that those individuals who have particular themes they do not like to read about or are not ready for their kids to read about are aware. I do not support censoring. :)

[Shoshanah · Rating 5 out of 5]

We’re slowly continuing through the Dragon Masters series. This time, Search for the Lightning Dragon by Tracey West, the seventh in the series.

I’m loving how this series is developing. Instead of standalone books that can be read in any order each book builds of each other. In the last book the Lightning Dragon was discovered. In this we search for the dragon that escaped and also to identify his dragon master. This book ends on a cliffhanger too, setting the scene for of course, the Thunder Dragon in the next.

One thing that’s bothered me so far of this series is that these children leave home to move to the castle and train their dragons. Yes, they occasionally mentioned missing their parents but they quickly move on. This is the first time that’s really addressed, with a different approach, which I appreciated.

I think these books are so much fun and unlike the other early chapter books out there. (Or if there’s others we haven’t found them yet.) They’re still being published and we aren’t even halfway through what’s available so we’ll be talking about this series for a while now.

4.5/5

[zapkode · Rating 5 out of 5]

{My thoughts} – At the end of the last book we’d learned why the Primary Dragon Stone was in trouble. It was using all of it’s energy to hatch a baby Lightning Dragon.

The group of Dragon Masters now need to track done the new baby dragon. They have been looking for it for a few days and haven’t had any luck. Then all of the sudden Griffith’s friend Diego shows up and has a lead on it. While they are talking about where the baby dragon is the Dragon Stone that Griffith has chooses it’s new Dragon Master for the baby Lightning Dragon.

The group separates at this point. Some go after the baby Lightning Dragon, some stay with Griffith to study more about the baby Lightning Dragon and then Drake and Worm go with Diego to find the new Dragon Master.

A lot happens in this book. Towards the end we get introduced to the newest villain in the series. I have to admit I am curious where this is going. I look forward to reading more in the next book.

[Jeremiah Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m rating two stars as an adult reader, which is unfair because my 8 year old liked it. But parents have to read these too! And this one is boring. It took around an hour to read it aloud.

The plot is dull and all the characters run together. As a testament to how blah this is the next book, which I liked, sums up the whole thing in a page.

The dialogue seems so plain—I don’t know if that’s just goes with writing for young readers—I looked forward to the paragraphs with only exposition.

You know when your watching a TV series that’s one big story and certain episodes feeling like they’re just stalling so they can have episodes to fill out for he series? That’s what this feels like. It’s just there to make you want to read the next one.

This was my first book in the series, which may have enhanced my disappointment. But, again, my daughter liked it.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would be nearly impossible to follow the teamwork and cleverness of the previous book, but this books sets up the next storyline beautifully! Chaos and conflict all around! I just adored the baby Lightning Dragon and his new Dragon Master, Carlos, a humble boy from a fishing village who lives with his abuela.

And the cliffhanger at the end was fantastic! My daughter immediately jumped to the next book because we just had to find out what happened next.

I might be enjoying reading these more than she is! Just kidding ... she devours these books and then hands them to me so I can read and we can discuss together. We also decided to name our nickname our electric car Lalo, after the Lightning Dragon, since our car runs on energy and so does Lalo!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is my favorite book so far in the series! I loved the escape room ending by the kids figuring out which dragon's powers could help in various cases as they each had to be left behind. Such a fun way to problem solve together! Some puzzles I was even surprised at the answer, and some were more obvious but so much fun for the kid reading to be able to guess what to do. We also had this mysterious problem of not being able to connect with their dragons with their dragon stones driving the plot. Curious to see how they get the lightning dragon and what comes of it!

[Serenity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only read a couple of books in this series, but I felt I was able to follow the story without issue. It was a cute story about some cool dragons (with magical powers) and the children who are bonded to them (I think Dragon Master might be a misnomer, but it does sound cool). This one ends on a cliffhanger, so I think readers will probably clamor for the next volume in the series.

*I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher through my district library services*

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another kid to kidnap and train, regardless of his wishes. Even if he sees his grandmother every day, how can he do the chores for her? It just makes no sense.

Also amused that griffin can’t find the dragon until Diego says it was spotted, then it immediately appears in his scrying glass. Given the fact that dragons are flying around all the time, and the baby one is setting fires etc, I’m not sure how the dragons are a secret.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

How adorable is that new baby dragon? Oh my gosh! The illustrations of it were too cute!

I really like Carlos. The fact that he didn't want to leave his abuela was so sweet. He might be my second favorite dragon master.

I thought Diego's alarm system was genius. Even though it was always bad news. Also Diego's bird friend Bob was also an adorable addition.

[Stephanie P (Because My Mother Read) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one aloud with my 5 year old son. He loves the series and it was been a lot of fun for me to read aloud as well. I don't get bored or annoyed with these books and am always happy to read them with him. This book had some exciting new additions to the story and ends with quite a cliffhanger! My son is quickly learning the bittersweetness of cliffhangers!

[Jonesy.Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son actually asked if he could go to bed early, so that we could read more of this book. We finished it off, and immediately read the first chapter of the next book in the series. It leaves off on quite a cliffhanger so make sure you have book #8 handy like we did! This series is excellent for grade school students who love dragons! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Mark Harwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 5-yr.-old says his favorite part of this volume was Bob the gull, a bird who helps locate people for one of the wizards. Bob doesn't speak or pantomime - he just... flies. Like birds do. So I'm tempted to say that this was a weak entry in the series, except that, at the end of each chapter, my son kept begging to read more. I guess he really likes seagulls.

[Mona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book series enjoyed with my five year old; we read 7 books already. Easy chapter book for kids with some great characters. We love being transported in this magical land and go on a mission with Drake and the rest of the dragon masters while discovering the capabilities of their dragons.

[Robin Coral · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was our favorite in the series thus far! Adventure and suspense (perfect for a 6/7 year old). I love how the author puts reflection questions at the end of each book. We are slowly collecting children from all over the world in the characters and getting glimpses into their cultures as we go.

[Abigael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The proportion of racial & cultural demographics is the same as real life North America & Disney. 3/4 of authority figures are men. Kind of annoying on both accounts. (Not even counting the complete absence of disability & LGBTQ+ rep.)

[Conley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I like this book because it talked about the new baby dragon that is a Lightning Dragon and the new master but I don't like the part where someone on the purple dragon took the lightning dragon." -Conley, age 8

[Kaiden Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good because I like lightning! It’s nice to watch. I think this book is about friendship and friendship leads to happiness! And happiness leads to friendship! This book was about this lightning dragon, who’s an itsy bitsy baby dragon that escaped! It was dramatic!