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Lucy is horrified when her mum decides to sell one of her special dragons. She doesn't want Glade the mood dragon to go anywhere. But maybe someone else desperately needs Glade's help...
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
5 people are currently reading
437 people want to read
About the author
Chris d'Lacey
87 books1,115 followersHe was born in Valetta, Malta, but as a child moved first to Leicester and then to Bolton. After gaining a degree in biology from the University of York, he returned to Leicester and got a job at the University of Leicester in their Pre-Clinical Sciences department.
Originally his writing was confined to songs and he didn't turn to fiction until he was 32. His first piece of work was a 250,000 word story about polar bears for his wife, Jay, to accompany a stuffed polar bear he had bought her as a Christmas present.
He didn't write another story for seven years, until he heard about a competition to write a story for young children with a prize of £2,000. The resulting book, A Hole at the Pole, also about polar bears, didn't win - but he sent it off to a publisher, who accepted it.
His first children's novel, Fly, Cherokee, Fly, was published in 1998 and subsequently shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It was inspired by the time he found an injured pigeon in Victoria Park and nursed it back to health at home. It became a family pet and lived for 14 years in a birdbox attached to the back of the house. All of its offspring were given the names of different Native American tribes, which is where the title of the book comes from.)
He has since written over twenty children's books, including Pawnee Warrior (a sequel to Fly, Cherokee, Fly), a collaborative novel with fellow children's author Linda Newbery (From E To You), and the best-selling, award-winning The Last Dragon Chronicles. His books often contain environmental themes, and events based on things that have happened to him.
In July 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester for his contributions to children's literature. Although writing is now his main source of income, he still works at the university as the operator of the confocal microscope.
His favourite children's books are the Paddington Bear series and The Hobbit, and his favourite children's authors are Allan Ahlberg and Roald Dahl. Chris D'Lacey has written many books like Ice Fire and Fire Star, but his most famous book was Dark Fire, the fifth book in The Last Dragon Chronicles.
Originally his writing was confined to songs and he didn't turn to fiction until he was 32. His first piece of work was a 250,000 word story about polar bears for his wife, Jay, to accompany a stuffed polar bear he had bought her as a Christmas present.
He didn't write another story for seven years, until he heard about a competition to write a story for young children with a prize of £2,000. The resulting book, A Hole at the Pole, also about polar bears, didn't win - but he sent it off to a publisher, who accepted it.
His first children's novel, Fly, Cherokee, Fly, was published in 1998 and subsequently shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It was inspired by the time he found an injured pigeon in Victoria Park and nursed it back to health at home. It became a family pet and lived for 14 years in a birdbox attached to the back of the house. All of its offspring were given the names of different Native American tribes, which is where the title of the book comes from.)
He has since written over twenty children's books, including Pawnee Warrior (a sequel to Fly, Cherokee, Fly), a collaborative novel with fellow children's author Linda Newbery (From E To You), and the best-selling, award-winning The Last Dragon Chronicles. His books often contain environmental themes, and events based on things that have happened to him.
In July 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester for his contributions to children's literature. Although writing is now his main source of income, he still works at the university as the operator of the confocal microscope.
His favourite children's books are the Paddington Bear series and The Hobbit, and his favourite children's authors are Allan Ahlberg and Roald Dahl. Chris D'Lacey has written many books like Ice Fire and Fire Star, but his most famous book was Dark Fire, the fifth book in The Last Dragon Chronicles.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 8, 2020
I have now read seven of Chris d'Lacey's books in the last few weeks. Most I have read with my children and a few myself to check their level for reading with my kids. I have been impressed with all of his books that I have read. This one I have read three times now and even after three readings in a short period of time it is entertaining and a great read. Some of my criteria for great children's books are, first can an adult read it and enjoy the story, second, do I want to share it with my children and third, do children want to read it over again. This one passes all three of those tests with flying colors. In fact while reading this one to my younger two children, my oldest came into the room, when we finished reading, she asked me to start over with her so she could finish it with the others. I cannot give a book a higher rating that that my kids and I all loved it.
Liz and Lucy Pennykettle have a secret, even though Liz makes her living creating clay dragons and selling them in the market and at local fairs, some of her dragons are special dragons, they are alive and have a spark of real dragon fire inside them. In this instalment in the series a new special dragon has been made with the name Glade, She has a ring of ivy around her throat and it appears to change colors. Glade has asked Liz to come to the market, and is spotted by another young girl, named Melanie, the girl so wants Glade, but Glade believes she should go there to help with Melanie's Grandad. Glade seems to be able to make things grow, and she can sense feelings and emotions in people and respond to them. Pop's is forgetting things and life is a little hard right now for Mel and her mom. Maybe Glade can help but you will need to read to find out if so and how.
The Dragons of Wayward Crescent are a rare bread, both in dragons and in books. There are 4 great little books in this series and this series leads into The Last Dragon Chronicles. I understand that this series was originally planned for 12 books but alas we have only 4 to date, though there is hope d'Lacey will go back and write more after his current series is finished. But if not these are still 4 great stories and this one is especially touching and can be enjoyed by the young and young at heart. A great book in a great series!
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Chris d'Lacey. As well as author profile and interview with Chris.
Liz and Lucy Pennykettle have a secret, even though Liz makes her living creating clay dragons and selling them in the market and at local fairs, some of her dragons are special dragons, they are alive and have a spark of real dragon fire inside them. In this instalment in the series a new special dragon has been made with the name Glade, She has a ring of ivy around her throat and it appears to change colors. Glade has asked Liz to come to the market, and is spotted by another young girl, named Melanie, the girl so wants Glade, but Glade believes she should go there to help with Melanie's Grandad. Glade seems to be able to make things grow, and she can sense feelings and emotions in people and respond to them. Pop's is forgetting things and life is a little hard right now for Mel and her mom. Maybe Glade can help but you will need to read to find out if so and how.
The Dragons of Wayward Crescent are a rare bread, both in dragons and in books. There are 4 great little books in this series and this series leads into The Last Dragon Chronicles. I understand that this series was originally planned for 12 books but alas we have only 4 to date, though there is hope d'Lacey will go back and write more after his current series is finished. But if not these are still 4 great stories and this one is especially touching and can be enjoyed by the young and young at heart. A great book in a great series!
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Chris d'Lacey. As well as author profile and interview with Chris.
August 4, 2017
Third in The Dragons of Wayward Crescent series for middle-grade readers and revolving around the unusual Elizabeth Pennykettle, a potter, and her ten-year-old daughter, Lucy.
My Take
There are times to keep to a rule, and times you can’t. Especially when it means helping someone.
I adore the personalities (and accessories) that d’Lacey gives the dragons. It pulls me in, and I can only imagine how the idea of The Dragons of Wayward Crescent would entrance young readers.
The dragons entertain you while d’Lacey pokes away at childhood insecurities and reactions using Lucy’s perspective from a third-person subjective point-of-view. Those “sins” of wanting to be better than the other, of wanting to hoard one’s treasures, of not wanting to perform drudgery-sort of tasks are so typical of kids and will help them identify with Lucy. Yet d'Lacey keeps it positive in the core characters with how firm yet loving Liz is with her daughter.
That frog, Cecil, he has a pride in what he has, and it’s one we could strive for ourselves *grin*. And then there’s Grandad. D’Lacey captures the frustration of memory issues without making it a horror, and I do adore how Glade helps Pops in this story.
This is the story in which d'Lacey begins the set-up for The Last Dragon Chronicles!
D’Lacey’s The Dragons of Wayward Crescent series is so sweet and caring with that touch of the paranormal that I so enjoy.
The Story
Mum is breaking her rule in allowing Glade to come to the market. It’s one of the most secret of rules, for regular humans can’t know about Mum’s special dragons.
But here Glade is. Worse, there’s a little girl who wants to buy her!
The Characters
Elizabeth Pennykettle is a mom who is an independent entrepreneur, a potter who creates mostly inanimate clay dragons. Lucy is Liz’s ten-year-old daughter. The Dragon’s Den is the room upstairs where Liz has her studio.
Glade is only three weeks old and making her presence felt. Gruffen , 1, is a guard dragon with his very own guide to being a dragon. The listening dragon lives on top of the fridge.
Melanie collects dragons; Merlin and Daroth are part of her collection. Rachel is her mother. Grandad, a.k.a., Pops, lives with them and suffers from Alzheimer’s. Jenny is Melanie’s big sister who is away at boarding school. Cecil, a frog, lives in the pond in the backyard.
Henry Bacon, a librarian, is the Pennykettles’ grumpish neighbor. Eric Calhoun with his cheesy apron runs the convenience store. Agnes Murray has found some strays. Alfie is her budgerigar.
Dragontongue is the dragon language that sounds like Hrrr.
The Cover and Title
The cover is sparkly in greens with a gradated radial of greens to a central white, sprinkled with metallic green, yellow, and soft deep red stars, which showcases the focus of the story, Glade, a green mood dragon wearing a necklace of ivy and perched on that rock in the middle of Grandad’s pond. The author’s name is centered in a deep green at the top (the book title is tiny in the same green at the bottom) while the series information is directly below Glade in a metallic green.
My Take
There are times to keep to a rule, and times you can’t. Especially when it means helping someone.
I adore the personalities (and accessories) that d’Lacey gives the dragons. It pulls me in, and I can only imagine how the idea of The Dragons of Wayward Crescent would entrance young readers.
The dragons entertain you while d’Lacey pokes away at childhood insecurities and reactions using Lucy’s perspective from a third-person subjective point-of-view. Those “sins” of wanting to be better than the other, of wanting to hoard one’s treasures, of not wanting to perform drudgery-sort of tasks are so typical of kids and will help them identify with Lucy. Yet d'Lacey keeps it positive in the core characters with how firm yet loving Liz is with her daughter.
That frog, Cecil, he has a pride in what he has, and it’s one we could strive for ourselves *grin*. And then there’s Grandad. D’Lacey captures the frustration of memory issues without making it a horror, and I do adore how Glade helps Pops in this story.
This is the story in which d'Lacey begins the set-up for The Last Dragon Chronicles!
D’Lacey’s The Dragons of Wayward Crescent series is so sweet and caring with that touch of the paranormal that I so enjoy.
The Story
Mum is breaking her rule in allowing Glade to come to the market. It’s one of the most secret of rules, for regular humans can’t know about Mum’s special dragons.
But here Glade is. Worse, there’s a little girl who wants to buy her!
The Characters
Elizabeth Pennykettle is a mom who is an independent entrepreneur, a potter who creates mostly inanimate clay dragons. Lucy is Liz’s ten-year-old daughter. The Dragon’s Den is the room upstairs where Liz has her studio.
Glade is only three weeks old and making her presence felt. Gruffen , 1, is a guard dragon with his very own guide to being a dragon. The listening dragon lives on top of the fridge.
Melanie collects dragons; Merlin and Daroth are part of her collection. Rachel is her mother. Grandad, a.k.a., Pops, lives with them and suffers from Alzheimer’s. Jenny is Melanie’s big sister who is away at boarding school. Cecil, a frog, lives in the pond in the backyard.
Henry Bacon, a librarian, is the Pennykettles’ grumpish neighbor. Eric Calhoun with his cheesy apron runs the convenience store. Agnes Murray has found some strays. Alfie is her budgerigar.
Dragontongue is the dragon language that sounds like Hrrr.
The Cover and Title
The cover is sparkly in greens with a gradated radial of greens to a central white, sprinkled with metallic green, yellow, and soft deep red stars, which showcases the focus of the story, Glade, a green mood dragon wearing a necklace of ivy and perched on that rock in the middle of Grandad’s pond. The author’s name is centered in a deep green at the top (the book title is tiny in the same green at the bottom) while the series information is directly below Glade in a metallic green.
June 11, 2025
Good like the others but I didn’t like that one dragon went to another house for awhile. On to the next book!
August 14, 2025
I will stand that this is what I wanted from the OG series. This story was just wholesome and cute.
July 14, 2020
I liked this book, it was cute. It includes talking animals and fairies, but not in a cheesy way. There were discrepancies plot wise; he gave glade an additional power that has nothing to do with her name or her ivy, just to make the story work, but her extra power isn't mentioned in the original series. A wish to the fairies results in fulfilling an entirely separate wish. I point this out because the author's abilities deteriorated as his original series went on, and I think it's interesting that he continues that pattern in his spin off children's series. But that's me being critical. If you liked the first two, you'll like this one. If you like dragons and a short feel-good story, you'll like this.
March 4, 2021
I found this a little light, in that I could describe then whole story in a couple of sentences, and you wouldn't miss much, but the language was good for a children's book, the characters are largely sympathetic and feel real, and my 4-year old son liked it more than I thought he would. We'll probably read some of the others.
August 13, 2025
Lucy is skeptical about selling one of their special dragons to a neighbor, especially since it's not clear what Glade's special skill is. But something mysterious and magical is happening at the neighbor's house, and a little bit of wishing might be just what the family needs.
What a sweet and magical story.
What a sweet and magical story.
March 26, 2018
Not my favorite in the series so far. The storyline was a little all over the place. It was hard for me to track with, let alone my five and eight year old.
February 1, 2019
super sweet
March 4, 2019
these are little pockets of magic. i wish there were more.
January 23, 2022
Cute book.
March 26, 2024
At least Lucy wasn't quite as annoying but the spark has worn off the series.
May 15, 2025
Absolutely loved this book.
Lucy Pennykettle is at her mischievous 11-year-old antics once more!
Glade is a 4/5 star dragon.
I like Melanie; I'm surprised that despite Lucy's "GREAT" personality that she hasn't had any friends before!
Fairys! Mr. and Mrs. Cecile!
I loved how they had a picture of Ganzfeld (oops, spoiler sorry, not sorry) with his ginormous ears.
Oh, and how Lucy tried to spell eccentric.
EGGSNTRICK
also, that lil' snippet about getting a tenant! this is definitely a prequel series.
anyway, great book. Brilliant, as Liz would most assuredly say.
Chris d'Lacey, you've done it again! Hrrr!
Lucy Pennykettle is at her mischievous 11-year-old antics once more!
Glade is a 4/5 star dragon.
I like Melanie; I'm surprised that despite Lucy's "GREAT" personality that she hasn't had any friends before!
Fairys! Mr. and Mrs. Cecile!
I loved how they had a picture of Ganzfeld (oops, spoiler sorry, not sorry) with his ginormous ears.
Oh, and how Lucy tried to spell eccentric.
EGGSNTRICK
also, that lil' snippet about getting a tenant! this is definitely a prequel series.
anyway, great book. Brilliant, as Liz would most assuredly say.
Chris d'Lacey, you've done it again! Hrrr!
November 27, 2016
This was another interesting little book to go alongside The Last Dragon Chronicles. It is obviously aimed at children (although it has a 7+ age on the back cover, possibly due to the nature of the Granddad’s health) as it is huge writing and includes many pictures.
I found this book a bit less interesting than Gauge however as it described not how Glade came to be but what happened to her three weeks after she was made. This left me with more questions than I had before. I am sure that Glade appears in the main series, however in this book they sell her to a human family, so how does she get back?
Also I was not impressed by the indication that fairies exist. Although this is a fantasy series that includes magic and dragons, I would say that fairies don’t really fit into that picture and the way that d’Lacey has formed the world.
Although interesting this book wasn’t as good as I had hoped and receives two stars.
I found this book a bit less interesting than Gauge however as it described not how Glade came to be but what happened to her three weeks after she was made. This left me with more questions than I had before. I am sure that Glade appears in the main series, however in this book they sell her to a human family, so how does she get back?
Also I was not impressed by the indication that fairies exist. Although this is a fantasy series that includes magic and dragons, I would say that fairies don’t really fit into that picture and the way that d’Lacey has formed the world.
Although interesting this book wasn’t as good as I had hoped and receives two stars.
February 9, 2015
Anyone who knows me can tell you I love Dragons.
So naturally I was drawn to this charming little series by Chris d'Lacey. I read the other three some while back, but hadn't been able to get hold of this title. So when it came into the library where I work as a request for a customer, I cheekily slipped it into the staffroom to read during my lunchbreak before the requests were processed. Rest assured, I didn't keep the customer waiting at all. At only 96 pages of fairly large print, it was a quick easy read.
It was every bit as endearing as the others in the set.
I only wish there were more than 4 titles in the set.
So naturally I was drawn to this charming little series by Chris d'Lacey. I read the other three some while back, but hadn't been able to get hold of this title. So when it came into the library where I work as a request for a customer, I cheekily slipped it into the staffroom to read during my lunchbreak before the requests were processed. Rest assured, I didn't keep the customer waiting at all. At only 96 pages of fairly large print, it was a quick easy read.
It was every bit as endearing as the others in the set.
I only wish there were more than 4 titles in the set.
August 3, 2013
Well, I have read The fire within, from the last dragon chronicles, and it seems this series was set before David the lodger comes. This was a quick read for me that I read because my Library didn't have Icefire. It was good because it gave me some background info on the last dragon chronicles so I will probably be reading about Gruffen and gauge and Grabber as well.
Younger kids will definitely enjoy this book.
Yes! I am right the Dragons of Wayward Crescent is set before David comes- think I will read them now I know that!
Younger kids will definitely enjoy this book.
Yes! I am right the Dragons of Wayward Crescent is set before David comes- think I will read them now I know that!
June 29, 2016
I bought this so I could do during read aloud for my kids during their library time and they love the whole series. Wish there was more than 4 books and I could get books 3 & 4 in hardback like I have book 1 & 2 in the library.
Great little stories, to get the younger kids interested. I have a few kids who are now learning to read really well, have moved up to the "bigger books" in the series.
Great little stories, to get the younger kids interested. I have a few kids who are now learning to read really well, have moved up to the "bigger books" in the series.
April 21, 2011
This is yet another exceptionally cute tale by Chris D'Lacey. I love the way he works magic into his stories and also the fact his characters are so real.
This story is about a dragon that saves a family in a special way. It makes it a very special book for anyone that has an elderly relative who is unwell.
I cant wait to read the last one in this series!
This story is about a dragon that saves a family in a special way. It makes it a very special book for anyone that has an elderly relative who is unwell.
I cant wait to read the last one in this series!
December 13, 2013
I found this a little light, in that I could describe then whole story in a couple of sentences, and you wouldn't miss much, but the language was good for a children's book, the characters are largely sympathetic and feel real, and my 4-year old son liked it more than I thought he would. We'll probably read some of the others.
April 13, 2014
This is kind of a sad story at first, but it ends well, thanks to a dragon, fairies and a special flower :)
Some spoilers ahoy!
It is also a story about a special dragon that does not come to live with the Pennykettles and the story of how Lucy came to be friends with Melanie.
Some spoilers ahoy!
It is also a story about a special dragon that does not come to live with the Pennykettles and the story of how Lucy came to be friends with Melanie.
January 24, 2015
Glade (The Dragons of Wayward Crescent, #3)
d'Lacey, Chris
another story of the spacific dragons and why the are created.
February 17, 2012
My 8 year old daughter loves this series: I prefer the older series!
April 3, 2015
Gentle engaging story about empathy and family.
June 1, 2016
a cute little book from the world of The Fire Within. I really thought it was clever and gets kids into the world earlier (these are very short and simple books)
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews