The Thunder Egg
Written by Maddy Mara
Illustrated by James Claridades
New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. 2023. Intermediate. 126 pages.
Luca loves when his teacher, Mrs. Long, tells stories of a magical land called Imperia. Back when dragons ruled the land, it was beautiful and majestic. But dark times fell upon the realm, and all the dragons are gone. Mrs. Long reassured them that "only when the three dragons return will Imperia have peace again." One day, Mrs. Long asks Luca and two other students, Yasmine and Zane to stay in during lunch. When Luca touches a geode on display in the classroom, the three students are transported to Imperia. They discover that the geode is actually the Thunder Egg and that they now must compete in the Dragon Games, for the sake of all Imperia.
It's a blast to watch this fun, smart trio encounter all sorts of magical creatures and learn to work together. The adventures never stop in this epic Intermediate chapter book. There are a few pictures, but this is definitely a book for readers who can handle wordy chapters. As the fist book in the Dragon Games series, we get to know the magic of the world and are left with a cliffhanger teasing more adventures in Imperia.

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