Middle-grade fantasy novel
12-year-old boy as main character
Rating: A good fantasty read for middle-grade students full of laughs and fun!

Short, short summary: Part of The Magic Shop Book series, this book is full of voice and plot. Jeremy is running away from two bullies and Mary Lou Hutton when he stumbles upon Mr. Elives’s Magic Supplies Shop. He winds up taking home a dragon egg (which actually chooses him). Nothing unusual for a day in the life of a sixth grader! The rest of the book takes the reader through the hatching of the dragon–Tiamat, through Jeremy trying to keep an invisible dragon a secret (which actually is difficult), and through Jeremy saying good-bye to Tiamat. Because of all these adventures and his relationship with Tiamat, Jeremy becomes more creative and works through some of his own “relationship” problems. Kids will love this book, and they will want to read more of the series!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Students can write their own dragon or mystical pet stories while reading Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher or after they finish it. They can either pretend they have a new invisible pet living in their rooms, or they can pretend it happened to a friend or made-up character. Challenge your students to make a list of the characteristics of the creature BEFORE they start their stories. This way, their creatures and stories will be more consistent and believable, just like Coville’s.

2. This is a great book to work on the reading skill: cause and effect. Ask students to list several pairs of cause and effect. For example: Cause: Bullies wanted to hold down Jeremy for Mary Lou to kiss him. Effect: Jeremy runs and runs and runs until he finds the magic shop. Once students have pairs written down, ask them what would happen if one of the causes changed. OR Ask them if an effect can be a cause of something else and so on. Study how a story plot is made up of several causes and effects.

3. Ask students to journal about the ending of the story. Beginnings and endings (Organization) are one of the six traits of writing that are often studied. What do students think of the ending? Could they think of a different way to end it? Ask students to give the ending a rating from 1 to 10, and explain their rating. If they gave it a low rating, ask them to write what they would have changed. If they gave it a high rating (which most will!!!), ask them to write down two or three reasons why the ending is so good! Endings are very hard for children to write, and it is important to study great writers’ endings.

If you have used this book in your classroom or at home, please leave a comment here about some activities you did.

If you have an idea of a book for me to read and review, please email me at margodll@aol.com or leave a comment here.