Dragon Girls 2 – Willa the Silver Glitter Dragon

Maddy Mara's Willa the Silver Glitter Dragon is a sparkly, gentle adventure for 6 year olds about a girl who's happiest underwater and a quest she's scared she'll mess up.

What happens

This is the second Dragon Girls book. Willa loves swimming and diving. At the end of her lesson she hears the wind whisper a magic rhyme, and she spots a little shell flecked with silver on the bottom of the pool.

She dives down, grabs it and swims up into a shimmering lake in the Magic Forest. And she isn't plain Willa any more. She's a silver dragon with glittery breath and big strong wings!

A flying dolphin called Delphina shows her the way (yes, a flying dolphin). Below them the river is turning a murky grey. The Shadow Sprites are draining the goodness out of the water, and the Tree Queen who looks after the forest is growing weak.

Willa, Naomi and Azmina need three things for a potion. A perfect egg. A single tear from a sea-donkey. And something invisible from somewhere very deep. How do you find something you can't see?

This time Willa is in charge of the magic silver apple that holds the potion, and she's worried about it. The Shadow Sprites whisper that she's hopeless, and a little part of her wonders if they're right.

That's the heart of the story. Willa's wobbles feel very real (who hasn't worried they'll be the one to drop it?). But her friends believe in her, and so does the Tree Queen.

There are lots of funny moments too. The Worrying Waterfall Bird frets about absolutely everything, and she can't pick an egg to give away because they're all far too lovely.

The Shadow Sprites are more gloomy than scary, so it's a comfortable read for younger children. If you've got a reader who loves swimming, they'll probably feel right at home with Willa.

What to read next

To see how the three friends first found the Magic Forest, go back to Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon. Azmina has just moved house and hasn't made any close friends yet, until she hears a strange song drifting out of the forest behind her new garden.