Dragon Rider Paperback – April 1, 2011

I thoroughly enjoy reading children's novels, and am constantly amazed at what truly delightful and wondrous tales Cornelia Funke creates. She gained international success with the English publication of "The Thief Lord" and continued to spin her magic with the spellbinding "Inkheart". Having enjoyed these two forays into the mythical world of children, I was looking forward to reading "Dragon Rider" and was not disappointed."Dragon Rider" has a more mythical setting, in the fact that it asks the reader to believe that fantastic creatures exist in the same realm as humans. The last of the known dragons on earth are facing eviction from their peaceful valley due to the expansion of humans. Firedrake, one brave dragon, agrees to search for the Rim of Heaven - a magical hiding place of the dragons, that may or may not exist. Along with his brownie friend Sorrel, they pick up a human boy named Ben as they travel the world in their quest. Along the way that meet humans who both help and harm, as well as other fantastic creatures who help and harm. Their journey is impeded through the evil machinations of Nettlebrand, the Golden One. A manmade dragon with impenetrable metal scales, Nettlebrand was designed to destroy all of the silver dragons. With the aide of his frightened servants, Nettlebrand tracks Firedrake, Sorrel and Ben as they make their way towards the Rim of Heaven, so that he may hunt and kill the last of the dragons.Funke's story is filled with vivid and well-rounded characters. She weaves age-old stories with original plotlines, creating a story that no reader could put down until they know what happens to the heroes. "Dragon Rider" is filled with adventure and humor, a truly delightful story for children, as well as for the child inside every adult.

I bought this book to read to my Life Skills students who are all Intellectually Disabled, they absolutely love this book. The students laugh about the conversations between the "Brownie" cat and Ben the orphaned boy. I was worried that the book wouldn't hold their attention, but I can read to them for 25 to 30 minutes at a time and they are all paying attention. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story.

I already had bought the paperback version and I’m just thrilled that I had found the original! I had to do a little bit of hunting. Because there’s another hardcover version that used to be a paperback and this company turns paperbacks into hardcovers to have them lasts longer. Other than that the story is good better than a lot of ones today. I don’t want to give away spoilers. Let’s just says it’s my second favorite next to Inkheart, Lord of the Rings and so on…

My 12 year old 7th grader is an avid reader. Here is her review:--- "Firedrake, the dragon, and his feline "brownie" companion, Sorrel, have lived with all the other dragons in the same valley all of their lives. Then their friend, Rat, warns them all: the humans are going to turn their valley into a reservoir! The oldest dragon, Slatebeard, tells all the dragons that the only safe place to go is the Rim of Heaven... but only Firedrake decides to set off to find a long-forgotten, possibly un-real place. While hiding in a city to get a map from one of Rat's relatives, a boy named Ben finds them. After Ben helps Firedrake and Sorrel, they decide to take the boy with them. But, Sorrel didn't truly understand how to read the map, so they end up in an area marked to be bad. Sorrel reassures them that it will be fine, but in a nearby castle, a great evil has been told of a silver dragon on the mountain -- and the evil one is none other than Nettlebrand, the dragon hunter, the monstrous 'Golden One.' Will Ben, Sorrel, and Firedrake find the Rim of Heaven, and save the other dragons? Or will they lead Nettlebrand to hunt the pack? Find out in this great book! This was an awesome, fast-paced adventure novel that kept me page-turning and guessing as to what would happen next! It had me cheering on the characters, worried for them, and totally invested in the story. I loved all the main characters: good-hearted Ben; loyal, strong Firedrake; and even sassy Sorrel (the only main female character.) This book was a roller coaster of excitement and emotions. Since it is pretty long, I would recommend it to ages 9+. I think anyone who is a How to Train Your Dragon, or Harry Potter fan would like this book!"

My first introduction to the Dragon Rider was through a coworker who'd purchased the book for her son. I took a look at the first few pages and decided I'd like to get one for my young nephew also. I did and of course, I being a book-hog wanted one in my collection as well. So a second book was purchased. It took me a while to decide to read this little novel, but once I did, I was certainly glad of it. This is a very cute story, thrilling and it kept me wondering from one small chapter to the next. Each of the chapters are short enough to keep your interest, but not so long as to lose you in wordiness.My only con of this book is that it ended before I was ready for it to end! I could have been immersed in the Dragon Rider forever. It does end giving me the presumption that there could be more adventures for the young dragons and the dragon rider, so I hope Ms. Funke decides to go there. I recently purchased the Inkheart series just to keep me going until she does!Dragon Rider is a nice read for any age.