LoveReading4Kids Says
Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2019 - Longlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2019
Andy Shepherd’s series about Tomas, a boy who discovers dragons growing in his grandad’s garden is hugely popular and deservedly so. The plot is delicious – what young reader wouldn’t love to have magical, mischievous, lovable little pets flying round their bedrooms. If you think a kitten can cause trouble, just think of the extra chaos a young dragon can cause, fiery, exploding poo being just part of it! Cheeky as the little dragons are, they are also hugely lovable, affectionate and loyal. When Tomas’s friends find dragons of their own, the fun multiplies, and together they find out more about their dragons and have wonderful adventures, fuelled always by copious amounts of jam tarts. Another joy is all the time Tomas spends with his wise old grandad, cultivating the garden and discovering lots about nature and life in general. No matter how wild the dragon’s antics, the stories are grounded in real life and the human relationships are perfectly described. The stories are illustrated throughout with black and white line drawings by Sara Ogilvie and her dragons are quite as naughty and as gorgeous as they sound in Shepherd’s descriptions.
Andrea Reece
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Andy Shepherd Press Reviews
A warm-hearted debut... lovely, expressive, characterful - Sunday Times
Irresistible... everything you want in a book for a newly independent reader - tender realism, honouring children's inner feelings and anarchic magic, both beautiful and regrettable. Sara Ogilvie's illustrations capture both enchantment and stench... A modern classic - The Guardian
[An] ingenious premise is brought to life with great skill and humour - The Scotsman
Hilarious, warm and full of magic... featuring delightful line drawings - The Metro
Imaginative and charming, The Boy Who Grew Dragons is a wonderfully whimsical story that kept me smiling the whole way through - Books for Topics
A warm-hearted and really fun story - Parents In Touch
A hilarious rip-roaring adventure. Perfect for fans of Roald Dahl and Cressida Cowell - South Wales Evening Post
Free readers will get stuck into the new series The Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd, about finding magic in the most ordinary of places - Angels and Urchins
an inspired concept, this is a funny and heartwarming tale of magic, family and friendship - Madge Reviews
This is a sumptuous start to a new series, bursting with energy and humour, yet tinged with the darker side of life too. There's a grumpy neighbour, aware but preoccupied parents, an eclectic group of friends, a strange gardening guide, nomenclature of dragon pets - so many facets all covered and explored. A perfect example of domesticity interrupted with a touch of magic. Dragon fruit will never look the same again! - Minerva Reads
Andy Shepherd's dragon-debut is an absolute delight and is just the very start to a series that I'm sure is going to be a roaring success. It's a series that - pardon the pun - I just want to drag-on and on and on! - The Reader Teacher
The Boy Who Grew Dragons is one of those magical children's books that warms the cockles of your heart no matter what age you might be. It's fast, it's funny, it makes you feel good, and for the brief time, it takes to read its reassuring innocence comforts you into believing that everything is right with the world. This is Andy Shepherd's first book and she knocks it out of the park from page one - Starburst Magazine
a spectacular start to a new series - The Sun
Shepherd delights in describing crazy situations, and the book's heartfelt message is one of care and friendship - Literary Review
Fantastic fire-breathing fun with wonderful illustrations by Sara Ogilvie, this is a lovely new series for anyone who ever wanted a pet dragon - WRD Magazine
A kind of Pete's Dragon with extra giggles, The Boy Who Grew Dragons takes on the rather hair-singeing challenges of finding that your grandad's garden has suddenly started sprouting fire-breathing mischief-makers and the illustrations by Sara Ogilvie really make it come alive - Waterstones Blog
charming [and] sublime - Event Magazine
My son and I really liked this. It's at heart a simple story, but has some rather charming elements. Tomas raises his baby dragon, keeping him a secret, though his little sister finds out and her precious little ways are rather adorable.Friends of course eventually become suspicious - especially when there's explosive dragon poo to be found in Tomas's school bag! One of our favourite scenes, I think. The scenes of baby Flicker causing mayhem are very much in line with the age group's humour - Nudge Book
A proper children's book... the humour and Sara Ogilvie's illustrations are just right - New Statesman
The story is a heartwarming account of one boy's struggle to look after a mythical creature whilst juggling the reality of life at school and at home with lots of laugh-out-loud funny moments and peppered with bold illusstrations that will keep young readers enthralled - The School Librarian
A wonderfully whimsical story that's fast, funny and full of feel-good moments - Creative Bloq
Funny and Imaginative - The Week Junior
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