In Cornelia Funke’s second installment to The Dragon Rider series, The Griffin’s Feather, the reader is taken on an exciting adventure half way around the world in search of a special feather to save 3 Pegasus’s eggs. The Dragon Rider series is an action-packed adventure series that involves the world of magical creatures. From dragons to centaurs, brownies to imps, they are all represented, so much so that I kind of lost track of all of the different magical creatures talked about. But this series will appeal to those that have loved books like Fablehaven and Never Ending Story. As stated, this is second in the series (and it is a set up for a third); however, I felt like it was rather easy to follow the storyline. I think reading the first would offer a better understanding of all of the creatures in this magical world.
As far as the storyline, Ben and his grandfather, along with several creatures, set out on a quest to find a golden feather with magical properties. This feather is needed in order to save the last of the Pegasus’s eggs. This quest takes them from their Nordic Magical Creature preserve to the tropics of Indonesia. Action and adventure are just as plentiful in this novel as the magical creatures and will draw one in wanting to find out what happens next. And as far as the dizzying number of creatures listed, there happens to be a catalogue at the back of the novel to keep them all straight…something I wish I had known about as I was reading.
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Chicken House
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 1 mild obscenity.
Violence/Gore: Characters are tied up and locked in cages by magical creatures; several mentions of human skeletons and bones being strewn about alluding to them having been left there after having been killed by some magical creature; magical creature threatens another creature with a detailed account of how he’s going to be killed and have his organs eaten; character threatened by gun-wielding creature.
Sex/Nudity: None
Mature Subject Matter:
Poaching.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
None
