Dexter the Book Dragon
Deb Evans
Deb Evans Books (2024)
ISBN: 979-8989472031
Reviewed by Diana Coyle for Reader Views (01/2025)
Best friends Maizie and Addie not only go to school together but also hang out with each other after school in “Dexter the Book Dragon: Discoveries” by Deb Evans. They both feel like misfits because they don’t fit in with the other twelve-year-olds they go to school with. One of their favorite pass times is going to the library to read books. As the weeks pass, Mrs. M., the librarian, seems distraught. She tells the girls that someone has been stealing books from her library. She doesn’t know who it is, but she will get to the bottom of this mystery once and for all. The girls have no idea what she’s talking about.
One day while they’re at the library, something extraordinary happens. While the girls were leaving, they both thought they saw a flash of blue light upstairs. They didn’t put much thought into it and left. But as daytime turned to night, something made them keep thinking about the flash of blue light that caught their eyes. So, they came up with a game plan for when they would go back tomorrow after school.
The next day, they sit patiently waiting to see if the blue light flashes again. To their amazement it does, and they catch a glimpse of a dragon named Dexter. After speaking with him, they find out he’s the one who has been taking the old and unused books from the library. Why is Dexter stealing books from the library? What do the girls find out after getting to know Dexter?
The idea of a Book Dragon, existing in a human world, with the sole task of taking old and unused books from a library to give them a new home in Dragon Land is beyond ingenious. The whole dragon idea is fun to read, but getting to know Dexter so closely will have any reader, young or old, falling in love with him. Just the idea of a dragon existing in the present day, and having the specified task in the dragon community of being a Book Dragon, a very distinguished title to have, leads any reader to want to know more about Dexter and Dragon Land.
Ms. Evans created her characters to be so believable that you feel Dexter is just as real a character as Maizie, Addie, and Mrs. M. Readers will eagerly want to go on the adventure with Maizie and Addie to see why Dexter is stealing books taking them to Dragon Land. As you get further into the story and you get to know Dexter more, you grow to have feelings for him just as much as all the human characters.
Overall, “Dexter the Book Dragon” by Deb Evans is one book that readers, young and old, can truly enjoy. It has a great storyline and well-developed characters that will truly entertain any reader who picks it up. It is highly recommended!