Note: I received a paperback copy of this book from the publisher. ( )

Ella and Owen are siblings; Owen has a cold (complete with fire-sneezes) and would be happy to stay in bed with a book, but adventurous Ella lures him out, and they encounter an ogre and an evil vegetable wizard. Rather unusually for a chapter book series, the story ends with a cliffhanger, and the first few pages of Attack of the Stinky Fish Monster are included as a teaser.

See also: Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon ( )

I've been reading a lot of early chapter books recently, since it's an area I'm relatively unfamiliar with. But, even for one of those, this is light on substance. The adventure the two dragons find themselves on isn't written in such a way that the danger and peril really read like any kind of threat to their success. I don't necessarily expect tons of dramatic tension and the ever-looming threat of death to be found in a book for kids still in the single-digits, but I would like for it to feel like maybe the heroes won't accomplish their mission. A little bit of dramatic tension is a good thing, but was, for this reader, missing here. ( )

This book explains how siblings act around each other. Ella and Owen are dragon twins and choose to adventure late at night to look and see if they can figure out a way to cure Owen's cold. They are faced with several obstacles along their journey on finding a cure. ( )

Owen is a complete bookworm (dragon-worm that is) and is perfectly content to sit at home in the stone house, reading while he waits for his fiery cold to go away. However, his twin sister Ella is much more adventurous. She thinks a cold that makes you sneeze fire is not normal and they should find a wizard to cure it. Owen isn't so sure - evil wizards (and vegetables) are top on his list of things he is scared of. Not to mention his worst fear; evil wizards made of vegetables!

However, Ella is persuasive and soon the two are off on an adventure, bickering and bantering along the way. They make it to the Cave of AAAAAH! Doom! but will they ever make it out again?

This silly and icky beginning chapter book is generously illustrated with black and white drawings. I could only get a sense of them from the sketches in the ARC, but going by the cover they look delightfully goofy. Gross details like a spider-snail pet, eating slugs, and stinky fish ice cream are mixed with wacky humor, including an evil vegetable wizard.

Verdict: I'm always looking for new beginning chapter series and I think this one, a fun mix of gross and silly, will be a welcome addition to our collection. Fans of Branches' Notebook of Doom are sure to approve. Little Bee's forays into beginning chapter books are looking good! Recommended.

ISBN: 9781499803686; Published March 2017 by Little Bee/Bonnier; ARC provided by publisher at BEA; Purchased for the library