Like Gail Carson Levine's books, Merrie Haskell's middle grade fantasy adventure Handbook for Dragon Slayers mixes magic, mythical creatures, thrilling action, and a wonderful cast of characters.

Political upheaval sends Princess Tilda fleeing from her kingdom in the company of two hopeful dragon slayers. The princess never had any interest in chasing dragons. The pain from her crippled foot was too great, and her dream was to write a book. But the princess finds herself making friends with magical horses, facing the Wild Hunt, and pointing a sword at fire-breathing dragons. While doing things she never imagined, Tilda finds qualities in herself she never knew she possessed.

Handbook for Dragon Slayers is a deeply satisfying coming-of-age tale wrapped in a magical adventure story.

Author: Merrie Haskell
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 05/28/2013
Pages: 336
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.60w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9780062008169
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.4
Point Value: 10
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 165659 / Handbook for Dragon Slayers


Award: 2014 Schneider Family Book Award Winner - Middle School


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2013
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2013
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2013 pg. 131
School Library Journal 12/01/2013 pg. 114
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2013 pg. 79 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Haskell, Merrie: -

Merrie Haskell was born in Michigan and grew up in North Carolina. She wrote her first story at the age of seven, and she walked dogs after school in order to buy her first typewriter.

Merrie returned north to attend the Residential College of the University of Michigan, where she earned a BA in biological anthropology. Her fiction has appeared in Nature, Asimov's Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, and Unplugged: The Web's Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy: 2008 Download. She now lives in Saline, Michigan, with her husband and stepdaughter. Merrie works in a library with over seven million books, and she finds this to be just about the right number. She is also the author of The Princess Curse and Handbook for Dragon Slayers.