There’s a scene, about two thirds of the way through The Story of Owen,  Dragon Slayer of Trondheim that is making it onto my list of favorite scenes of all times.  It’s simple, it’s wonderful, it’s symbolic, and it’s what every parent would like his or her child to know.

Now, I’m not a symbolic person.  I don’t read books and sit back and try to find the deeper meaning in the broken egg shell or the dying flower on the nightstand.  I read books to be entertained.  But every once in a while, I get it.  A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to see the Cirque Du Soleil Beatles show in Vegas.  Most of it went over my head, but when the woman wrapped in red silk dropped two stories onto a VW Beetle and the Beetle exploded into many parts, I sat up and exclaimed, “YOKO ONO!  I get it!  I get it!”  In other words, subtlety in symbolism is wasted on me.

This one particular scene is all of a page and half long.  It takes place as the town is gearing up for a battle against dragons.  Siobhan is at home with her parents who know they must let her go fight the good fight, but, being parents, are doing their best to tell her they love her with all their might.  Siobhan is in the garden with her father.  They are tilling the frozen soil, preparing it for a spring planting.  Siobhan’s dad, in his very dad like way, starts talking about Siobhan as a child, how from the very beginning, she was musical, drawn to notes like some children are drawn to Hot Wheels or books.  Her parents, an accountant and a doctor, aren’t particularly musical, but they recognized how from and early age Siobhan had a calling.  While they would like to see her pursue something a little more concrete, their deepest desire is simply to see their daughter well prepared, loved, and supported in whatever path she choses.  To be a parent is much like turning over the cold, hard frozen earth to uncover what is hidden underneath, to plant a seed and nurture it until it grows to maturity.

Eh?  See?  I got it.  And I read it again and again, because it touched me.  In a page and half, E.K. Johnston wrote exactly what I want for my children.  I want them to go out into the world, to do what they love, and do it secure in the knowledge they are loved, supported, and accepted.  And this lovely relationship between Siobhan and her parents is one of the reasons I highly recommend this one!

What I liked about it:

• Modern day dragons who feed off of carbon emissions in Canada is only made better knowing their hatching ground is in Michigan (where my family lives)!
• Owen, the dragon slayer in training , gets detention within the first 2 minutes of the first day of school.  Awesome.
• You know it’s a good book when you have no idea what the hero and heroine look like and it doesn’t matter.
• Love that the dragons are just layered in there with all the modern stuff – driving, parking spaces, dragons.  Because they’ve been there forever, it’s taken for granted.
• The dragons are not nice.  They are destructive.  They are dangerous.  Nobody is trying to make friends with them.  I liked that.
• I wish I’d played Offense/Defense Fridays!
• A lot of main characters love books because the authors who  write them love books, but Siobhan loves music  and not radio music but band music, orchestra music, writing music, making music, playing instruments.  How cool!
• The matter of fact tone is fantastic.  Every thing that has ever happened was because of a dragon and it all makes sense – everything from why Northern Africa is desert to what the logo of the Detroit Red Wings means is dragon based.  Who knew?!
• The black flies of MI – oh, how I know those.
• Siobhan may not be a dragon slayer, but her job as a modern day bard makes her a valuable part of the team.
• The writing  style bursts forward then backwards in time then it catches up to present day again.  It’s so well done, it’s fun.
• Siobhan describes a flute player as being able to handle whatever life throws at her or “tuba to the core.”
• Lottie’s wife Hannah – at first, you don’t think much of her.  She’s not a dragon slayer so she isn’t one to get all the attention.  But she’s crafty and smart and not afraid to play dirty.  Love it!
• I like how the “realizations” happen in this story.  It’s a slow build then wham!  But they aren’t dwelled on overly much which makes it nice.
• All the family relationships are wonderful.  There’s love, there’s respect, and there are a lot of different family types so you get a little bit of everything.

 What I didn’t like about it:

• Okay, I admit, I am teenage girl enough to wish this was a love story.  But it’s not.  And it was so good, I got over it because I had to admit, the love story would have been cliché.

What I would consider before giving this to a kid:

• This one is good for 6th grade on up content wise.  Not every 6th grader is going to get the whole impact on the environment part of the tale or some of the humor, but there’s no sex, no drugs, and a strong message of bonding together and fighting for your community.

Final Thoughts

• For a book about dragons, this one sure had a fantastic message about love and support and family.  The whole concept of modern day dragons tickled me pink.  When I was done, I sincerely wished there was a sequel or three.  Read this one.