"To quicken the egg, take it outside at midnight on the night of the next full moon. Lift it to the moonlight and wisper: Full moon's light to wake the egg Full moon's light to hatch it; Midsummer Night will crack the world, But St. John's day will patch it." When Jeremy Thatcher follows the strange instructions given to him by the weird old man who runs Elives' Magic Shop, he finds himself raising a tiny, mischief-loving dragon names Tiamat. But as Jeremy soon learns, even a tiny dragon can mean big trouble. And Tiamat isn't going to stay tiny for long... Here is a tale filled with laughter, and a few tears, that will make your heart take wing.
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"My students love this book so much I had to buy extra copies for both libraries, so I decided to check it out for myself (pun intended). Seeing as it's Bruce Coville, I shouldn't have been surprised by how good it was. Not only does this book embody every kid's fantasy of having a dragon, it tackles real and authentic emotions and situations of growing up. This book is strongly recommended for anyone who works with 3-5 grade students."
— Mary (4 out of 5 stars)
" this is kind of a sad book, but a really good one. "
— Catherine, 2/20/2014" I really like this book. It had a pretty bad beginning in my opinion, but I liked it so much, I read it over again. I like dragons so I thought this book would be interesting, because I have only read two or more other books on dragons (Dragonology). "
— Kasen, 2/15/2014" Fantastic fantasy, perfect for a young boy about responsibility, conflict resolution, and oh, lots of fun fantasy and love you share with a special pet! Whimsical and fun, with enough reality to keep it grounded! "
— Malissa, 2/5/2014" I read this elementary school, borrowed it from the library. It was a GREAT read, especially for the little girl that loved to read about dragons. "
— Rachel, 1/26/2014" I read this while in elementary school and all this book did was succeed in making me wish I had a pet dragon EVEN MORE. "
— Alisa, 1/19/2014" Cute book about a bullied boy finding a magic shop and getting hold of a dragon's egg. A real dragon who communicates with Jeremy telepathically, hatches, causing him all sorts of difficulties. He learns a great deal from the experience. As I recall, it's a little preachy, but still fun. "
— Mary-Beth, 1/17/2014" If your interest is dragons, then you should read this book! This book is about the bond between man and dragon. "
— Lil-ladybug, 1/5/2014" Good fantasy for 3rd-5th graders. Short. Christopher Paolini must have read this as a child before he wrote Eragon. Lots of similarities in the hatching and connection of dragon and boy. Good recommendation for young readers who aren't ready to tackle the bigness of Eragon. "
— EL, 12/21/2013" This is one of my all time favorite books. If I could buy 100 copies and hand them out to everyone I know (and like), I would. "
— Bev, 12/20/2013" Lovely little story featuring a rather marvellous vetinary doctor/father figure who comes out with some great philosophical lines. "
— Bettie, 12/16/2013" This is a great story. We see a lot of character development without things getting too heavy handed. "
— Angelina, 12/7/2013" This little series of books was really fun when I was in 5th and 6th grade. They held my attention when television and video games consumed most of my time. "
— Michael, 9/14/2013" I loved this book as a child, it was positively magical and enrapturing to me and I don't know exactly why. I just remember it captured my imagination and made me miss reading and rereading every page when I didn't have it in my hands. "
— Krys, 9/13/2013" I liked this book. I like how most of the books have to do with stumbling into that magic shop. "
— Soccerplayah07, 7/5/2013" I really loved this book as a child. "
— Janalynn, 2/27/2013" Magic and mystic is not my usual thing, but this was a great book! The escapades in Jeremy's life were believable with the story of the dragon being just a little added excitement. I know several kids who would really enjoy this book and I'll be sharing it with them soon! "
— Janice, 2/20/2013" Bruce Coville's "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" was a hit at our house. This was one the first "longer" chapter books that I read to my five year old and he loved it! He loved the idea that a boy could hatch a dragon egg and find an amazing friend inside. "
— Heather, 11/27/2012" cute funny "
— Gem, 8/10/2012" I will admit that at the time I was young, and didn't hear many sad stories then. I cried. "
— Noah, 6/27/2012" I have loved this book since the first time I read it. It's amazing when you can read a book and almost ten years later you still remember the book and what it's about. Re-reading it brought back the same joy as the first time I read it. I absolutely love this. I would recommend this book. "
— T_love, 5/29/2012" Read this for my son's fifth-grade class. "
— Tiffany, 4/12/2012" All right, fine. Wasn't too great, but was creative. "
— Itamar, 3/21/2012" the 2nd entry in the Magic Shop series. This one is pretty good, a little better than the others. "
— Joslins, 10/13/2011" A wonderful young adult book, it really speaks to the part of us that wants magic to be real. "
— Ki, 7/17/2011" I just discovered this author. We will be reading more of his books. This was a fun read-aloud that all my kids enjoyed (even Jaymie). "
— Kristen, 7/5/2011" This a quick read, but pretty boring. Might be good for some boys who want to get lost in magic and mystery. "
— Michael, 6/29/2011" Read is aloud to my daughter. We enjoyed this one even more than Jennifer Murdley's Toad. I used to read this every year in the library. This is a great book! "
— Dawn, 6/22/2011" it is more of a little boy book "
— Grace, 5/21/2011" Read out-lout to a third-grade class. I can't say it really held their interest. It would make a good movie, but the plot is formulaic and the characters lack depth. "
— Amanda, 5/19/2011" This book was a fun little read. I enjoyed it but I don't think I'll ever read it again. "
— Arik, 5/4/2011" I loved this book as a child, it was positively magical and enrapturing to me and I don't know exactly why. I just remember it captured my imagination and made me miss reading and rereading every page when I didn't have it in my hands. "
— Krys, 4/24/2011" I enjoyed reading this book. It was alright but not my favorite. "
— Jade, 4/20/2011" This book is good because it is a fiction book, not only that the book has pictures to help tell the story. "
— Adonis, 4/18/2011" I give this more of a 3 1/2. It was fun and very quick to read. Written for youth, it was still engaging. I did want to read more. "
— Carol, 2/19/2011" Great book! It touched my heart! "
— Kailey, 2/6/2011" Magic and mystic is not my usual thing, but this was a great book! The escapades in Jeremy's life were believable with the story of the dragon being just a little added excitement. I know several kids who would really enjoy this book and I'll be sharing it with them soon! "
— Janice, 2/3/2011" i liked it but it was too short and i didn't exactly enjoy the ending. could've been better. "
— Scott, 1/23/2011" When I was a kid, this was by far my favorite book. I used to borrow it from the library whenever i saw it. "
— Julia, 1/16/2011Bruce Coville is the author of 101 books for children and young adults, including the international bestseller My Teacher Is an Alien and the wildly popular Unicorn Chronicles series. He has been a teacher, a toymaker, a magazine editor, a gravedigger, and a cookware salesman. He is also the founder of Full Cast Audio. Bruce lives in Syracuse, New York, with his wife, author and illustrator Katherine Coville.
Pedro Pablo Sacristán was born in Madrid and graduated with an MBA from a prestigious business school. His passion for education and writing led him to create Bedtime Stories, short stories that help teach kids values.