Dragon Storm – Tomas and Ironskin

Alastair Chisholm's Tomas and Ironskin is an exciting Dragon Storm adventure for 8 year olds about a blacksmith's son who sees a dragon's face in the fire.

What happens

Tom is eleven and he loves working the forge with his dad. They make dragonswords for the king, even though everyone knows there hasn't been a dragon in the land for a thousand years.

Then a face appears in the flames. It's long and bony, with burning eyes, and it hisses his name. "Be ready, Tomasssss..." Who wouldn't get a shiver at that?

A smooth young man called Malik turns up offering Tom a place as an apprentice clerk. It's the kind of chance Mum and Dad can't turn down. But Malik isn't really a clerk, and Tom soon finds himself in a secret Guild Hall full of flying dragons and the children who ride them.

There's so much here to love. A hut full of new friends who all argue about who's in charge. A pompous captain who can't sword-fight to save his life. A sneering teacher who thinks a blacksmith's boy doesn't belong. And best of all, Tom summons his very own dragon, Ironskin, who glows like hot iron and is very pleased to be a "she, not an it".

But there's a problem. Every time Tom looks at Ironskin she reminds him of home, and she starts to fade away. To keep her, he may have to choose between his dragon and his family. That's a really big thing to think about (for grown-ups too).

It's a great pick for children who are just moving on to longer stories. The writing is quick and clear, and there's a mystery brewing quietly in the background.

For a more nervous reader, it's worth knowing that later on Tom's own family is in danger in a house fire. It's tense, but it isn't gory.

What to read next

For another boy called Tomas with a dragon all of his own, try The Boy Who Grew Dragons. Tomas is clearing his grandad's overgrown garden when he finds a strange spiky fruit that starts to glow.