Kate’s 2¢: “Dragon Masters” Series by Tracey West

“Dragon Masters” Series by Tracey West

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   As our children were growing up, I tried to read as many of the books they read for school or on their own. Some books were not in an accessible format for this blind mother, but I did the best I could.

   Now, when my 9-year old grandson, a very capable but reluctant reader, suddenly delved into “Dragon Masters” by Tracey West, my curiosity was piqued. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the entire series of early chapter books was down-loadable from BARD, a division of the National Library System of the Library of Congress.

   Each wonderfully imaginative story kept my interest, too. There were several questions and activities at the end of each short story to guide the readers to think about what they’d read.

   Unfortunately, I’m not able to comment on the illustrations by Damian Jones and the other illustrators’ work.

   I’d recommend this series for the students in Grades 2 through 5 and even 6^th grades. I’m a big supporter of reading with and to children of all ages, creating awesome memories and a spring board for discussions  that will last a life-time.

From her website:

I grew up in a small town in New Jersey. Every day, my brother Michael, sister Katie and I would play in the street with our friends on Walnut Avenue. We rode our bikes, played kickball and Ultimate Frisbee, or rode down the hill on sleds in wintertime. On Saturday mornings, we were glued to the television set eating cereal and watching cartoons. In the summer, I loved to walk across town to the library, take out as many books as I could carry, and read them all under a shady tree somewhere.

After high school, I attended Rutgers University and studied English and Journalism there. I knew I wanted to be a writer, and journalism seemed to be a way to write and get paid for it. I worked on the college newspaper and even worked as a newspaper reporter for a little while, but when I graduated I got a job as an editorial assistant at a small publishing company. I learned a lot there about how books are edited, published, and sold.

From there I moved to a company that packaged children’s books and sold them to other publishers. I started out submitting ideas for books that other writers would then turn into stories. Then I began writing outlines for those writers. Finally, I wrote my first book, a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Supermystery called Spies and Lies.

At the same time, my friends Bonnie and Lisa and I came up with an idea for a children’s book called Great Uncle Dracula. We wrote the book under the pseudonym Jayne Harvey. It was the first time one of my original ideas got published, and I really liked that feeling.

I went to work for Scholastic after that, and when I left in 1996 I decided to try writing books full time. In 1997 I started Pure West Productions and began writing, editing, and packaging books and magazines. My sister Kate came to work for the company. These days she writes children’s books too, as Katherine Noll.

A few years later I got the job writing Pokémon books, and that’s when the fun really started. Although writing Pokémon kept me busy, Scholastic picked up my original series, Pixie Tricks. A few years later, I debuted Scream Shop, a Pick Your Path published by Grosset & Dunlap.

I still love writing books based on cartoons, website and movies. Some of the properties I’ve enjoyed working on include Poptropica, Kung Fu Panda, Club Penguin, Star Wars: the Clone Wars, Plants vs. Zombies, and many more.

I write non-fiction books, too, and I have had several series out since Scream Shop, including Hiro’s Quest for Scholastic. I think writing chapter books is my favorite thing to do.

In 2005, I married Bill Hancock, who was my friend in high school. I became a step-mom to Bill’s three great kids, Will. Kyle, and Zane. Today I Bill and I live in the Catskill mountains with our dogs, a cat, and a bunch of chickens. When I am not writing books (which is most of the time), I like to work in my garden, hike in the woods, read books, and watch cartoons and food shows on TV.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Dragon Masters. Books 1-6 DB96217

West, Tracey. Reading time: 5 hours, 8 minutes.

Read by Joe Peck. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Adventure

Books one through six, written between 2014 and 2016, featuring eight-year-old Drake and several other kids who are trained to be Dragon Masters. Includes Rise of the Earth Dragon, Saving the Sun Dragon, Secret of the Water Dragon, Power of the Fire Dragon, and two more. For grades 2-4. 2016.

Downloaded: December 26, 2020

Dragon Masters. Books 7-12 DB96224

West, Tracey. Reading time: 3 hours, 59 minutes.

Read by Michael Scherer. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Adventure

Books seven through twelve, written between 2017 and 2019, featuring fantastical adventures. Includes Search for the Lightning Dragon, Roar of the Thunder Dragon, Chill of the Ice Dragon, Waking the Rainbow Dragon, Shine of the Silver Dragon, and Treasure of the Gold Dragon. For grades 2-4. 2019.

Downloaded: December 26, 2020

Download Dragon Masters. Books 7-12

Dragon masters. Books 13-14 DB97215

West, Tracey. Reading time: 1 hour, 49 minutes.

Read by Julie-Ann Elliott.

Adventure

Books thirteen and fourteen, written in 2019, featuring fantastical adventures. In Eye of the Earthquake Dragon, kids race to stop the evil wizard Maldred’s plans to release the Naga, the powerful earthquake dragon. In Land of the Spring Dragon, a fairy causes problems in the kingdom. For grades 2-4. 2019.

Downloaded: December 26, 2020