Dragon Moon by Carole Wilkinson
And another end to a favourite series… This time the wonderful Dragonkeeper trilogy set in a mythical Imperial China.
The story so far…. Ping was a lonely slave girl working for a cruel master who claimed to be the Imperial Dragonkeeper. Although he had care of several dragons, they were gradually dying. Ping, the true dragonkeeper, helped one dragon escape and traveled with him to the ocean carrying a strange stone all the way. Once bathed in seawater the stone hatched and Ping became ‘mother’ to a baby dragon.
In this book Kai, the young dragon, has reached adolescence and together he and Ping head off to find a safe home for Kai. A coded map is found, and eventually they find a small group of dragons surviving in the mountains. Because of the broken relationship with humans, the dragon tribe refuse to help humanity and as a result China is starving in drought.
I have greatly enjoyed these three books, especially the last. Ping has truly grown up over the series, becoming a confident young woman able to make decisions and face dangers. There is enough adventure to keep the story flowing, and the fantasy element is handled without becoming silly. These books provide entertaining reading for anyone over age 10.
