The Dragonsitter’s Island

Josh Lacey's The Dragonsitter's Island is a very funny story for 6 year olds told entirely in emails, from a boy looking after two dragons on a Scottish island.

What happens

Eddie, his mum and his sister Emily have come to Uncle Morton's island for the week. Uncle Morton is away in Outer Mongolia, reading old books in a freezing library. Ziggy and baby Arthur are the dragons they're minding.

The trouble starts before they're even through the door. Nobody can find the key! Then Ziggy does a poo in the kitchen, the cupboard is full of tins and there's no tin opener. Mum is ready to go home on day one.

That's before the sheep start going missing.

Mr McDougall, the farmer over on the mainland, is sure the dragons are to blame. Eddie is sure they aren't (Arthur can barely fly). And then Eddie spots something with a long neck out in the sea. Is it really the Loch Ness Monster? Uncle Morton thinks it's a swan.

Because it's all emails, you only ever hear Eddie's side. His uncle writes back long, polite replies about yak stew and statues from Brazil, and Eddie answers in about three lines. That gap is where a lot of the jokes live.

There's a lovely bit of grown-up comedy for you too. Gordon, the farmer's nephew with the speedboat, keeps popping over. Emily thinks it's a date. Mum says don't be ridiculous and turns bright pink. Eddie is mostly interested in the boat.

It's short and quick, and the email headers break it into little bites that suit a newer reader. Each one ends on a small cliffhanger or a punchline. Eddie's deadpan voice is the real star ("Luckily, the book wasn't very good" after the dragons eat it).

This is an American edition, so Eddie writes Mom and favorite. Worth a word if your reader is spelling-proud!

What to read next

Eddie's dragons also crash his Christmas in The Dragonsitter's Castle. It's the same two dragons turning up uninvited on Boxing Day, then a chilly stay at his dad's new castle in Wales.