DreamWorks’s Dragons Leap to Pages in New Series

DreamWorks’s franchise “How to Train Your Dragon” is an absolute fan-favourite. A true delight. With great characters, and an intriguing world as well as strong narration it is no surprise.  And now, six years after the first film released in theatres, “How to Train Your Dragon” remains highly regarded.  And only seems to be getting stringer and gaining even more popularity.  From the films, television series, live-shows and more. Dragons has become a strong and recognized series.

And with a third and final film slated for release in May of 2018.  There is a lot of passion for the series to be had as fans wait to see the final chapter unfold. Luckily fans do not only have to But in the meanwhile there is some great Dragon content to be had.

JumpStart, a learning-based game maker for kids, has partnered up with the power-house publishers Random House Children’s Books to release a brand-new book series. Featuring, you guessed it, the characters from “How to Train Your Dragons”. This new non-fiction series, perfectly titled that of “School of Dragons”, takes readers along with characters from the series along for exploration of science and history.  With the core being STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The focus of each installment differs and goes in-depth of a wide range of topics.  Including that of inventions, storms and volcanoes to name a few.

The first two books in the series are set to hit digital and physical book stores on September 6th. But I was so graciously given the chance to review the first two books by JumpStart.  And give you, our BSCKids readers, a first look into the new series.

The first book, “Volcano Escape!” digs into volcanoes. Each of the seven chapters elaborates on the previous and brings the topic round-circle. With not only talking about early origins of volcanoes. But also just what is going inside the Earth and even if and how it will erupt. “Volcano Escape!” even covers volcanoes in space and the rocks associated with the natural occurrence.

The book does go into great detail about the history and even the process of monitoring for possible activity. In the back of the book there is a nice glossary that well defines all the terminology used.

As explosive (pun intended) and interesting as volcanoes are.  The second book takes readers on a different adventure. “Greatest Inventions” is a throw-back in it’s own right. As it recounts some iconic and important inventions of the past. Inventions that have helped made technology is what it is today.

Seeing how the ancient civilizations used a sundial for time keeping compared to our smart watches. Watching transportation start from a simple wheel to airplanes. From the original printing press to computers.

  “Greatest Inventions” brings to light just how far we have come with technology. Even things that we might not give a lot of though to. Like Lighthouses or ballpoint pens or even body armor, now seem a lot more critical. It  is amazing to see the progress and wonder what will build off what we already have.

Growing-up I was never a big fan of non-fiction books. They always seemed rather dry and sometimes even disconnecting. “School of Dragons” is as far from that as possible. With a seventy-eight page count a lot of interesting information is to be had. Not only is it easy to read, but the way it’s formatted makes it easy to skip around. Plus having the characters from the series join you as you read made it a lot of fun.

I do highly recommend the series. Even if you have reservations with non-fiction I do encourage you to give “School of Dragons” a chance. One book can change one’s entire view when it comes to reading.

“Volcano Escape!” and “Greatest Inventions” are only the first two books in the series. Both titles will be arriving wherever books or ebooks are sold on September 6th. And as a added bonus, be sure to look at the back cover of the books. There is a special code that redeems items in the online game, also called School of Dragons.

Be sure to keep a eye out for the third book in the series, “Storm Approaching”, coming at the start of 2017.

Again massive thank-you to JumpStart for sending me the first two books in the series. I had such a fun time reading and reviewing them. I look forward to what comes next.

Join the conversation: Non-fiction; love it, or not?