Dragonsdale, No. 1: Where Dragons and Dreams Take Flight!

Dragonsdale is a stable full of dragons to ride. A girl named Cara likes a dragon that she secretly rides. Cara is not allowed to ride dragons. One day her father lets her ride Skydancer after watching her ride in a show. Cara and Skydancer are finally happy. Dragonsdale is the best! I was telling my mom about it until she got tired(because she had already read it). I was so afraid Hortense would get Skydancer! I could not put this book down. It is very good for both kids and adults. I am an 8 year old girl and I was really captivated by it. Horse lovers will also enjoy this book. I have two horses and the idea of riding made me want to read it. I found out riding dragons is almost the same as riding horses with a few differences of course! This is a book to definitely keep on your shelf! -----Typed by mom

Dragonsdale is the perfect combination of horse stories and fantasies. This time, the stables that girls dream of being filled with beautiful ponies is filled with awe-inspiring dragons. Cara is the daughter of the Dragonmaster, the head of Dragonsdale. The one thing she wants more than anything else in the world is to ride one of those dragons that she cares for. However, she's forbidden to do the one thing she wants most because her mother was killed while riding a dragon. As Cara works caring for the dragons with all her friends, she develops a wonderful devotion to the most uncontrollable of all the dragons named Skydancer. But the nastiest girl of all, Hortense, decides that Skydancer will be hers, alone to ride in the upcoming championship. Dragonsdale contains plenty of tension with some very well-drawn characters. It's very clear who is the heroine and who is the villain, and wondering what the outcome will be keeps the pages turning for grade school readers.

This is my favorite book ever. My favorite part is when Skydancer and Cara ride in the wild. I liked the character of Cara because she is nice, smart, and works as a team. The story made me feel like I want to ride a dragon. Hortense is a nasty character. I also liked the meaning of the trustbond because it showed that you need to work kindly to create relationships. (Submitted by mom)

Salamanda Drake's DRAGONSDALE is a winning story of a riding school run by Cara's father - a riding school where dragons are the mounts. It's a stable of longing for Cara, who loves dragons but is forbidden to ride them since her mother's terrible accident - and it's a stable of danger, as she secretly rides anyway, in defiance of her father's wishes. Will Cara ever be able to openly take flight and ride? DRAGONSDALE is your typical horse stable girl story with a twist and will delight grades 6-8 with a fun story of change and courage.

I am a 10-year-old girl. This book was the first book that ever made me cry. Once I started reading this book, I was hooked. It is the best book in the universe because Cara seemed like a real person to me. And all the other characters seemed real too. Hortense seemed so evil, I despised her! This book was very well written. I recommend this book to all kids around my age. They will love it. (typed by mom)