Andy Shepherd's dragon-debut is an absolute delight and is just the very start to a series that I'm sure is going to be a roaring success. It's a series that - pardon the pun - I just want to drag-on and on and on! - The Reader Teacher Sure to fire up the imagination and a love of reading, this is a series that’s going to be a roaring success. A debut of dragon delight… guaranteed to make children (and adults!) everywhere wish for their own dragon after reading this.’ The art? Well it is Sara Ogilvie, I just adore her art. And it fits so so well with this book, her dragons are amazingly cute. It was one of the 3 reasons why I bought this book (the first one being dragons, the second gardening in combination with that first). This is a sumptuous start to a new series, bursting with energy and humour, yet tinged with the darker side of life too. There's a grumpy neighbour, aware but preoccupied parents, an eclectic group of friends, a strange gardening guide, nomenclature of dragon pets - so many facets all covered and explored. A perfect example of domesticity interrupted with a touch of magic. Dragon fruit will never look the same again! - Minerva Reads

In a Nutshell: Even dragons couldn’t save this for me. It has a few merits but becomes boring after a few chapters. I was definitely rooting for him to just tell his friends, and I am glad with his decision in the end. A kind of Pete's Dragon with extra giggles, The Boy Who Grew Dragons takes on the rather hair-singeing challenges of finding that your grandad's garden has suddenly started sprouting fire-breathing mischief-makers and the illustrations by Sara Ogilvie really make it come alive - Waterstones Blog This book is the first in a series aimed at a younger age than I normally read, so it was a very fast read for me. Tomas takes the reader straight into the story when he helps his grandad clear out his overgrown garden and discovers a dragon fruit tree. However, this is not your usual dragon fruit tree, as he finds out when one of his fruits hatches a little dragon! Coolest pet ever! But dragons come with self-combusting poos, specialist diets, and a whole lot of trouble keeping them secret from the grown-ups. He stared up at me, his twinkling eyes looking right into me. It was like gazing into one of those crystal prisms, where the light is scattered into a rainbow. Fragments of color sparkled and danced around the dragon’s almond-shaped irises. I could have looked into those eyes forever. Then, just for a second, his sharp little claws tightened on my arm again.”

Their grandad isn’t to be left out though. His love of gardening and desire to share it with his grandson is the reason Tomas is able to grow dragons. I loved how it was shown sometimes kids disappoint the adults in their life and that’s okay. His grandad is pretty fly and supports his grandson in a most loving and subtle way that I really appreciated. Being from Wales, dragons are an important part of our culture – rooted in our myths and legends to appearing on our national flag – and so from the start, I felt some kind of connection to this book. Identifying with this book is not something that only I will be able to do easily as it’s also something that many readers will immediately feel when reading this too, whether that be through the familiar characters, the everyday settings of home, school and the garden or through the sense of awe, amazement and magic in the dragon-discovery to come… As for Liam, eh. That guy just needs a new hobby in his life. Snooping, stalking, and bullying is just not the way to go. And then there is that thing at the end. Urgh. That is the worst thing that could happen. I also liked Tomas' little sister: Lolli, or Charlotte. Sometimes little siblings are annoying, but Lolli was a cute little sister and I loved how she and Tomas worked together. :P Well... mostly Tomas trying to bribe his little sister and turning her words into something different before people found out what she was actually babbling about. But they certainly made a fun pair. Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2019 - Longlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2019

Although this is the sixth book in the series, I think it also does stands alone. The main character, our protagonist Tomas, introduces himself and the his ‘excitable idea’ to write ‘The Ultimate Guide to growing Dragons’. So, who wants to grow dragons ? Dumb question, right? I mean seriously, who in their right mind would say no? Not me, that’s for sure. And not you by the looks of it. But if you want to grow dragons, you need to know what you’re getting into. Sure, they’re fiery, fantastical, and dazzling, but dragons are not all fun and games. Not by a long shot. And it’s not just the fire and the flammable poo I’m talking about. Oh no! Which is why, my dragon-seeking desperados, I’m writing this all down, so at least you can go into it with your eyes open. Because, believe me, you’ll need them to stay wide, wide open.” This is an early middle grade book. It’s reminiscent of a chapter book to me. This format has to be taken into account as we aren’t going going to get as fleshed story as a teen or adult might want. There is a bullying element I wanted more of, that felt like it was left hanging. I suspect we’ll get more of it in future books. Each book of the series advances the story, so by its very nature The Boy Who Grew Dragons is setup. Quite good setup, but it left me wanting more. Which is a good thing for middle grade readers.Liam and also Grim were just terrible. They were great villains though. Liam at school (what a bully), and Grim as the next door neighbours of Tomas' grandparents. Yes, I get that Grim wasn't happy with what happened in his garden, but you are certainly not helping your case by acting like a bully. I did love the illustration at the end showing Tomas’ bully. I won’t reveal what it shows, but it says to me that there is some enlightening commentary on bullying to come.