book cover

The Broken Dragon

by Karen McCombie, illustrated by Anneli Bray

Interest age: 6 to 8
Reading age: 7+

Published by Barrington Stoke, 2023

  • Chapter books

About this book

When Tyra moves in with Nan, they love to visit charity shops in search of hidden treasures and are always delighted if they find anything dragon-related, as Tyra adores dragons. Despite her exuberant personality, Tyra feels anxious about starting her new school. She worries that her classmates will think she’s too bouncy or weird, just like they did in her last school. When Nan gives her an exquisite china dragon to celebrate her first day, Tyra has a great idea: she’ll take it to school and everyone will be so impressed that they will want to be her friend. Unfortunately, in her haste to show it off, Tyra drops the dragon and watches in dismay as it smashes into pieces. Luckily, Tyra’s teacher has a wonderful suggestion to make everything better.

This heart-warming tale sensitively explores the anxieties of starting a new school and trying to fit in, beautifully demonstrating the importance of kindness and inclusivity. The book has many specialist features designed to help dyslexic and reluctant readers, such as a special font to help avoid confusing letter shapes and short chapters to build confidence and stamina. Dynamic black-and-white illustrations perfectly capture the energy and emotion of the tale.

About the author

Karen McCombie is the bestselling author of 90 books for children and teenagers, including the series Ally's World, You, Me & Thing and St Grizzle's School For Girls, plus novels The Girl Who Wasn’t There, Catching Falling Stars and The Pearl in the Attic. Originally from Scotland, she lives in London with her husband, teenage daughter and beautiful-but-bitey cat. Karen does a lot of her writing on her laptop at a local garden centre cafe, since it has more cake and passing dogs to say hello to than her writing office at home...

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