Icefire - Softcover

Chris D'Lacey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1843621347 ISBN 13: 9781843621348

Publisher: Orchard Books, 2004

Synopsis

Life isn't exactly normal lodging at the Pennykettles - not when you're surrounded by hundreds of clay pottery dragons. Fate seems to be dictating an unusual course for David when his university tutor sets him a writing project on the existence - or not - of dragons. The tantalizing prize - a fully-funded research trip to the Arctic - seems just within his grasp. David starts to research the subject and soon discovers a connection between dragons and the Arctic just as it begins to snow. Is it only a coincidence? Or could deeper forces be at work? As David starts to uncover more about the dragons, he finds himself drawn down a path from which there is no going back to a time when dragons really did exist, and their secrets were guarded by the polar bears of the Arctic. If David is going to have any chance of winning the research trip, he has to open his mind to the legend of dragons and the mysterious secret of Icefire.

About this title

About the Author:

Chris d'Lacey is a hugely talented children's writer, whose first novel for older children, Fly, Cherokee Fly was highly commended for the Carnegie Medal in 1999. This is his third Red Apple for Orchard. Chris loves animals and enjoys writing about them, his favourite animals being squirrels, polar bears, pigeons and cats. He lives in Leicester with his wife and manages to find time for a full-time scientific post at Leicester University, alongside his writing.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 7 Up–This book expands on the dragon lore created in The Fire Within (Scholastic, 2005). College student David Rain's new professor, Dr. Bergstrom, a polar research scientist, introduces him to legends from the Arctic and invites him to write an essay about dragons to qualify for a research trip. A succession of paranormal events leads to David's flamboyant classmate Zanna inadvertently quickening a dragon egg belonging to his landlady, Liz. A powerful woman who calls herself Gwyneth, and who claims to be Liz's aunt, arrives to help with the arrival of the new dragon. David discovers that Gwyneth is a figure from dragon legends, and that her motivations may lead to harm for him and for his friends. His attempts to oppose her result in an action-packed conclusion, expanding further on the legends and leaving room for the final volume in the series. In contrast to the domestic story of The Fire Within, Icefire offers a darker and more mature story. Liz's clay dragons develop a greater degree of realism within the story, and their background is further explored. Readers will find action and mysteries aplenty in this fantastic tale, as well as a group of appealing dragons who are tricky, heroic, and often charming.–Beth L. Meister, Pleasant View Elementary School, Franklin, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1843621347
• ISBN 13: 9781843621348
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352