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Leah Mohammed's Luma and the Hiccupping Dragon is a pair of cosy, funny stories for 6 year olds about a girl whose puppy is secretly a dragon.
Luma's pet Timir looks like a fluffy grey puppy. Well, usually. When it's just Luma or her Nani around, he's a little dragon who talks (mostly about food).
In the first story, Luma wakes up at Nani's house to a strange noise. Hic! Timir has the hiccups and he does not like them one bit. They won't even let him eat his jammy toast.
Nani knows exactly what they mean. His flame is on its way!
Luckily, Luma's charm bracelet has a little locket that's meant to make dragon fire harmless. But something isn't quite right. Every puff of flame makes things go haywire. Swings twirl, toys fly and a garden centre hosepipe goes wild (poor Flora gets soaked).
Timir is SO funny. He talks in short, very definite sentences like "I do not like to wait." He sulks, he sneaks food and he wails when things go wrong. But he's also properly scared, and Luma's patience with him is really sweet to read.
The second story starts on the morning of a dog show. They've practised their best trick for two whole weeks. Then Timir tries to change back into a dog and finds he's stuck as a dragon. Not ideal when you're meant to be entering the fancy dress!
It's gentle and warm, with lots of chatter and plenty of little disasters. There's a lovely grandmother too. Nani is the only grown-up who's in on the secret, and she always seems to know a bit more than she's letting on.
One small thing to know is that this edition uses American words, so it's Mom and yard and color. Your reader might spot it and ask!
Want to see where it all began? Luma and the Pet Dragon has Luma's seventh birthday going nothing like she planned.
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