Pip loves the creek. Its white rock, the quiet, the treasures revealed in the dried out bottom, and the way the sunset washes everything golden. It’s also a place to be, other than at home where her mum’s boyfriend Matt prefers to pretend she doesn’t exist.

One dusk, the sunset and the creek together reveal something. Something small, dried up, papery and barely breathing. With tiny scales and tissue thin wings, Pip dares to believe. Could it be…? Is it really…? A baby dragon? She takes it home and names it Little Fella.

Over the next few days, she hides it from her mum and Matt. She knows what he will do to it because she’s seen him squash things her mother would once have saved. Spiders, insects and anything he doesn’t like, or they do. A dragon wouldn’t be any different.

Pip wishes her best friend Mika was still around. The boy who loved stories, drawing them from others and telling his own. He talked of wonderful happenings in nature, the stars, and far off countries. Of ghosts and faces and spooky things. He would never tell his own story though. If only Mika was here to share Little Fella with.

On the first night in her bedroom Pip feels something sharp in her palm. Her hand begins to feel heavy and hot. She feels herself somehow changing, her skin tight from the inside, sometimes constricting until she can’t breathe. How can she explain something like this to anyone? Only Mika would understand.

There are others who can help though, others she can safely share Little Fella with. These others too are in awe of the creature that is growing fat and healthier by the day on Weetbix and Arrowroot biscuits. These others are as unlikely allies as finding a dragon in the first place, but they all know – a dragon isn’t something you can keep.

Wow! Just like her debut novel Lenny’s Book of Everything, Dragon Skin is something truly special. Who has never dreamed of finding a magical creature all of their own? Feeding and caring and hiding it from those who won’t believe or wish it harm.

This ribbon of magical narrative is expertly woven through a harsh reality. One of fear, tiptoeing around a man who relishes in control, and reading him like weather patterns inside a house.

The author’s skill shows a woman in turmoil, swinging from what could be a better, safer, reliable truth. There is also a boy who could be an imaginary or truly wonderful friend, or a memory to cling to.

Find this. Read it. Love it. Keep it forever.

Author – Karen Foxlee

Age – 10+

Teachers Notes here

(2021, Allen & Unwin, Dragon, Creek bed, Friendship, Magic, Controlling Personality, Control Freak, Narcissistic, Belief, Secret, Cave, Loss, Memory, Fear, Safety, Treading on eggshells, Family)