The Secrets of Droon 24 – The Race to Doobesh

Tony Abbott's The Race to Doobesh is a fast, funny fantasy adventure for 7 year olds about three friends who slip away to a magic world from a cupboard under the stairs.

What happens

Eric, Julie and Neal have been visiting Droon for a while now. They get there down a magic staircase that appears in Eric's basement. By this point Julie can fly, Eric is turning into a wizard, and their old enemy Sparr has been turned back into a boy and is now (sort of) on their side.

It starts at the cinema, with a voice whispering out of Neal's popcorn. "Find the dragon!" So off they go to Droon, where Jabbo the pie maker (a small, grumpy dragon in a chef's hat) is being carried away by two of Emperor Ko's beasts.

Doobesh is a city full of pirates and thieves, and now Emperor Ko's beasts are in charge of it. They seem to think Jabbo is Gethwing, the fearsome moon dragon. Jabbo has to keep pretending, pie filling all over his face, while he tries to help the children.

The best bit? To get past the beasts, Sparr turns everyone INTO beasts. Julie becomes a round blue Glup who can only say "glup" and sneezes ice. Neal becomes a small scaly fish-beast who shouts EVERYTHING. Eric grows two extra eyes in the back of his head. Young readers will love working out how each silly new power saves the day.

There's also a magic maker called Pasha who pulls a bowl of noodles out of his pouch and turns it into climbing ropes. The ideas come thick and fast!

The chapters are short and the story moves quickly from one danger to the next. There's a river of fire, a forest that grabs you and a sandstorm to get through. It's exciting without being scary, and the jokes from Neal keep things light.

This one sits well into the series. The friends talk about lots of earlier adventures, so a reader who knows the characters will get the most out of it. A new reader can still keep up though, because everything is explained as it goes.

What to read next

Is your reader new to Droon? Then begin with The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet. That's the afternoon Eric is stuck cleaning out the basement, and a stray football rolls into the little cupboard under the stairs.