Dragon's Milk (The Dragon Chronicles)

It was nice to see a book where the Dragons are not portrayed as bad guys. Most story lines paint them violent monsters who delight in mindless destruction. This is not the case in Dragon's Milk. The Dragons in this story are shown as intelligent beings who have relationships, and care about their children. The real problem is mankind has relentlessly expanded his farms & villages into their territory, destroying their habitat to the point of confrontation. This is where our story comes in... The heroine's sister is dying, and the only way she can save her life, is to barter with a nearby Mother Dragon for her milk. Since the dragon has lost her mate, she agrees... on the condition that Kaeldra is to become guardian of her babies on those nights when the mother must hunt for food. Unfortunately, mankind has hunted the wild animals she needs to extinction, leaving farm animals as the only source of food. Because of this, the mother Dragon is ambushed and killed by Dragon Slayers hired to protect the local farmers. Kaeldra then finds herself the sole protector of three young Dragons with a price on their heads. Dragons who because of their human guardian, don't understand that humans are their enemies. Desperate to protect them, our heroine flees into the night, taking her young wards with her. With only a legend about a far off haven to guide her, Kaeldra strikes out across the mountains with a Dragon Slayer in hot pursuit. As the number of people seeking the bounty on her three adopted youngsters increases, the only question becomes... Can she stay ahead of them long enough to reach safety? My children loved this book so much, I actually read it to them as a bedtime story twice. We were able to finish it in two weeks the first time. Then they begged me to start over again, So we read it for yet another two weeks. I would highly recommend Susan Fletcher's work to any other parent, or even to people who just happen to like Dragons.

I rate the story as 5 stars, but want to dock one because I think the age range of 8-12 is too low. Love the strong female lead and conservation message. I, as a mother reading with my child loved this book. That said it was a little heavy for my 8 year old..... SPOILERS AHEAD.... It’s obvious the mother dragon dies for the plot to continue. I was prepared to talk my daughter through that, but there is a heartbreaking death toward the end. The book says ages 8-12 and the AR level is somewhere in the 4th grade range. I originally purchased this for my 2nd grader who consistently tests as reading on a 5th/6th grade level and loves dragons. She read the first couple of chapters herself and had to constantly ask me to explain the meaning of thoughts and vocabulary, not able to distinguish made-up words and real. So I decided to just read it with her and really enjoyed it. The sad scenes though, even as a read-aloud were a little much for an 8 year old. There wasn’t really much in the way of romance but the...SPOILERS AGAIN... idea that in the epilogue the heroine is married and with child seems strange that this would be marked as for 8 year olds. I don’t know, maybe it’s just that we are not the Disney princess type. At any rate, great book, but know your child. If they are on the young side and really sensitive to creature deaths like mine, beware. Also, 12 is definitely not the upper limit :) The main character is 16.

I read this book for the first time in 7th grade and have remembered it ever since. I found it on Amazon and decided to see if it was as good as I remembered it being. I ended up buying the sequel after I finished it. It has a strong female lead and enough comedy and drama to keep you interested. Overall a quick, easy, fun read.

I am a young writer (12 years), I enjoy reading and writing a lot. I really like fiction/fantasy books and dragons. This book was really, really good, maybe one of my favorites. But when I found out what the other books were about I was disappointed. I really like Kaldera and her story I was hoping that there were more books on her but there’s not. I wish that it were different. :(

A beautifully constructed narrative, with enough story, mystery & fantasy to keep a youngster's interest & with characters & plot that will not inspire a parent's anxiety. And what kid doesn't love dragons? This is first rate stuff by a mistress of the craft.

I remember reading this when I was a preteen, and reading it again as an adult it is better than I even remembered. Susan Fletcher is a gifted storyteller and Dragon's Milk is a masterpiece. I especially love the archaic language that she uses confidently and effectively. It is a great book for young girls to read. Even boys will probably find it interesting. This brilliant novel, with it's heart-wrenching story of bravery and sacrifice, will always have a place in my heart as the first book to plant within me a love of dragons.

I remember reading this book some 15 years ago and was very fond of it. Re-reading it made me capture the same experience and it was very nostalgic. However, I have to say that its got flaws now that I look at it from an adult perspective. A lot of passages were muddled or written in ways that were hard to comprehend, though I understand that it's written in old English. The story was predictable but engaging, though there were times I found myself wandering away from the book. Other times, the story felt rushed, giving no sense of backstory or character development. I applaud the author's idea of creating a strong heroine and I liked Kaeldra, but I felt that there wasn't enough credit in her character for me to care about her. The same could be said for the draclings she takes care of, but they honestly are more entertaining than her. The romance, what little there was, could've been left out of the story and it wouldn't change much, if anything at all. Still, it was a fun read, and I could see why kids would be drawn to this book. It's a solid story and a good entry for kids wanting to explore the fantasy genre, just as it had opened for me years ago.

I love Susan Fletcher's writing, for young readers or adults & I plan to read everything she has written & will write

Love Susan Fletcher!