I had almost forgotten what it felt like. As a child, I was known for my love of books. The magical world of Narnia. The mysteries of Nancy Drew. The reflective words of Judy Blume.
My sisters and I spent weekends at my aunt and uncle’s house regularly. And before it had become considered a danger to do so (or maybe it was and the security guards just didn’t care back then) my uncle would leave me in the book section at Meijer while he shopped for groceries. He didn’t have to tell me not to wander and that I’d better be sitting exactly where he left me or else because he just knew. Before he had even had a chance to push his cart out of the aisle away from me, I was already lost in a new chapter of a new book and loving every delicious second.
I was probably eight when this was happening. The deal was if I managed to speed read my way through one book, he’d buy me two. My personal faves for this little challenge were the Nancy Drew books because really? Once you read one, you could pretty much skip all of the required Bess, George, and Boyfriend Ned background, also known as Chapter One, and get on with the story. I always left with two books.
Other people’s worlds.
I was too young to appreciate (but old enough to marvel at) the opportunity to hold entire worlds in the palm of my hands. Friends were few, vacations to escape the hum-drum of reality were fewer since my father worked two jobs to keep us afloat, but none of that mattered because I had a little library at my fingertips. All I had to do was choose the pages I wanted to lose myself in.
I had almost forgotten what that felt like.
And then I read Eisley Jacob’s debut middle grade novel Born to Be a Dragon. And I remembered.
The novel follows Meia, a ten-year-old foster child who has been bounced from family to family because of her tendency to daydream about the dragons she believes are real, and Deglan, the ten-year-old dragon who must flee from his home to protect himself because of the ancient mark he bears upon his skin. Told in alternating points of view, Born to Be a Dragon is truly an inspired work that will take readers along for a breath-taking ride filled with twists and turns as the unlikely friends discover the truth behind a legend that is destined to change both of their lives.
“Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.” ~ Anonymous Dragon
This cracks me up every single time I see it. Thank you, Eisley, for giving us the gift of your words. I can’t wait to read more. Or attend the movie premiere…
Order your author signed copy today. And stay tuned because I have an incredibly fun interview with Eisley that happens to include a giveaway…I tried talking her into an autographed bottle of ketchup, but she insisted on a book instead.
Your welcome.
