Wings of Fire 3: The Hidden Kingdom

The Hidden Kingdom by Tui T. Sutherland is the third Wings of Fire book, a big dragon fantasy for 10 year olds.

What happens

This one belongs to Glory. She's the RainWing of the five dragonets, and she's spent her whole life being told RainWings are lazy and useless. Now she's finally going home to the rainforest to prove everyone wrong.

The trouble starts before they even get there. Their old guardian Webs is badly hurt and slowing them down. And on the edge of the forest, Glory finds two soldiers who've been killed by something nobody saw.

Then the RainWings turn up. They knock her friends out with sleeping darts, just to say hello. They're kind and funny and they can vanish into the trees. They also nap in the sun every day, they don't really do parents, and their queen barely listens when dragons go missing.

Because dragons ARE going missing. Twelve from one village. Hardly anyone seems bothered, apart from Glory.

You're inside Glory's head this time. She's sarcastic and prickly and she doesn't like being touched. Her scales give away every feeling she's trying to hide, which she finds very annoying.

It's a mystery as much as an adventure. Glory starts asking questions, with Clay and Starflight tagging along, and a sloth who has decided she lives on Glory's neck now.

It makes most sense after the first two books, which are both in the library.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

The two dead soldiers are described plainly, with their throats torn out. The prologue has a NightWing talking calmly about killing the witnesses to a hatching. The dragonets also remember their friends being forced to fight to the death.

If yours gets upset when characters are hurt or in real danger, that's worth a thought. If they coped fine with the first two books, nothing here will be a surprise.

What to read next

If it's the rainforest they loved, Journey to the River Sea has a girl who has never met her family either. She's sent to live with them on the Amazon.