Dragon Thief by Zetta Elliott
Published: October 2019
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Kavita has a new pet named Mo. It’s a dragon and it breathes fire! She deftly acquired it recently from a witch’s apprentice who really should have been paying better attention to all three of the magical creatures in his charge. That apprentice was Jaxon, her brother Vik’s best friend. It was Jaxon’s job to deliver the dragons back to the realm of magic and when one went missing, he thought it might have been flying around Brooklyn, but it was actually with Kavita and she was desperately seeking a way to keep it out of sight. Hiding the dragon, however, was becoming more difficult by the minute. What once fit inside a mint tin had now grown to the size of a cat!
While Kavita receives some help from an unlikely hero, Jaxon and his friends go on a mission to locate a working gateway back to the realm of magic – but they have to do it without Ma. Oh, she’s around, but she appears to be under some sort of strange sleeping spell that she has yet to wake up from. This would be Jaxon’s chance to prove that Ma was right to choose him as her apprentice, but he had to do more than just believe in magic, he had to believe in himself. That’s what his grandfather would tell him. If he believed in himself, the possibilities would be endless.
The adventure continues in this second installment of what I hope might one day become a trilogy. The Dragon Thief picks up right where Dragons in a Bag left off-with a missing dragon! It is clear that Kavita has the dragon and the one person who can help her seems to have a rather unique interest in doing so. In the process, she grows so much closer to a family member who up until this point, she hadn’t really known too much about – unlocking a trove of family history. Kavita knew that her family was from India but she did not know that their roots could be traced to Africa too because of the enslavement of Africans from Zanzibar who were brought to the southernmost parts of India.
Zetta’s ability to go beyond entertainment to educate readers while unearthing hidden historical gems has made me a fan of her work. I would highly recommend both Dragons in a Bag and The Dragon Thief for middle grade readers (ages 8-12).
Get this book from your local indie bookstore:
Amazon: The Dragon Thief (Dragons in a Bag)
Here are some of my favorite lines:
“When you lose your home, you lose a part of yourself.” ~ Vik and Kavita’s Aunty
“Aunty had a songbird once but she set it free. She only kept the cage to remind herself that ‘everything living wants to be free.'” ~ Vik and Kavita’s Aunty
“Mummy says you can lose yourself if you try too hard to fit in.” ~ Kavita, quoting her mother
“Without challenges, we would never know our capacity for courage, compassion, and forgiveness.” ~ Sis
“You don’t just have to believe in magic-you have to believe in yourself.” ~ Trub
Shout-Outs
Zetta Elliott | https://www.zettaelliott.com/
Random House Children’s Books | http://rhcbooks.com/
Book Excursion | PLN Group of Rockstar Reading Educators| #BookExcursion
You should also read Dragons in a Bag:
CeCeLibrarian’s Book Blog 
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