The Broken Dragon

Karen McCombie's The Broken Dragon is a warm, gentle story for 7 year olds about a loud, dragon-mad girl starting at a new school.

What happens

Tyra is nearly ten and small for her age, with a VERY big voice and brilliant clothes. She's just moved in with her nan. Together they love rummaging in the Second Chance charity shop for treasure, especially anything with a dragon on it.

A new school is scary, though. At her last one people thought she was too much and too weird. So on the first morning Nan leans down and whispers "What do we do when we feel nervous?" and they both let out an enormous dragon ROAR (the whole playground turns round).

The first day is tough. The questions come thick and fast, like why she lives with her nan and why her clothes are so funny. At lunch she eats alone on a bench. At a classmate's birthday picnic her chocolate bar melts into gloop, and she suddenly wants to go home.

Then Nan surprises her with a beautiful white china dragon, and Tyra has a plan. She'll bring it into school and everyone will want to be her friend. You can probably guess what happens when she's wearing trainers a size too big.

What comes after is lovely. Her teacher, Mrs Suzuki, has an idea, and it involves a Japanese word the whole class ends up chanting.

It's a very gentle read. Tyra's worries are so real (are they laughing because she's funny or because she's silly?), and anyone who's been the new kid will recognise that too-tight, too-loose feeling in her tummy. Nan is wonderful too. Kind, a bit short of money and always ready to roar.

If you've got a reader who's about to start somewhere new, or who sometimes feels like they're too much, this could be a comforting one to share.

What to read next

If Tyra wins your reader over, The Mystery in Flat 6B is also by Karen McCombie. JoJo has just moved into a new block of flats with his dad, and somebody has chalked messages all the way up the stairs.