By Josh Lacey

Illustrated by Garry Parsons

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The first book in a fresh and funny new chapter book series, told completely in emails, about a boy named Eddie and a naughty pet dragon!

Dear Uncle Morton, You’d better got on a plane right now and come back here. Your dragon has eaten Jemima. Emily loved that rabbit!

It had sounded so easy: Eddie just needed to look after Uncle Morton’s unusual pet for a week while he went on vacation. But soon the fridge is empty, the curtains are blazing, and the mailman is fleeing down the front path. The Dragonsitter will have readers laughing out loud and begging for more adventures.

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Table of Contents

A Sneak Peek of The Dragonsitter Takes Off

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Dear Uncle Morton,

You'd better get on a plane right now and come back here. Your dragon has eaten Jemima.

Emily loved that rabbit!

I know what you're thinking, Uncle Morton. We promised to look after your dragon for a whole week. I know we did. But you never said he would be like this.

Emily's in her bedroom now, crying so loudly the whole street must be able to hear.

Your dragon's sitting on the sofa, licking his claws, looking very pleased with himself.

If you don't come and collect him, Mom is going to phone the zoo. She says she doesn't know what else to do.

I don't want the dragon to live behind bars. I bet you don't, either. But I can't stop Mom. So please come and get him.

I'd better go now. I can smell burning.

Eddie

Dear Uncle Morton,

I'm sorry for getting so angry when I wrote to you earlier, but your dragon is really irritating.

I hope you haven't changed your flight. If you have, you can change it back again. I persuaded Mom to give your dragon another chance.

Luckily, she didn't see him chasing Mrs. Kapelski's cats out of the yard.

Uncle M, I wish you'd told us a bit more about your dragon. You just handed him over and said he'd be fine and got back in your taxi to go to the airport. You didn't even tell us his name. And some instructions would have been helpful. Mom and I don't know anything about dragons. Emily says she does, but she's lying. She's only five and she doesn't know anything about anything.

For instance, what does he eat?

We looked for help on the Internet, but there was nothing useful.

One website said dragons eat only coal. Another said they prefer damsels in distress.

When I told Mom, she said, "Then I'd better look out, hadn't I?"

But your dragon doesn't seem so fussy. He eats just about anything. Rabbits, of course. And cold spaghetti. And sardines and baked beans and olives and apples and whatever else we offer him.

Mom went to the supermarket yesterday, but she has to go again today. Usually one trip lasts us a whole week.

Also, you could have warned us about his poop. It smells awful! Mom says even little puppies are trained to go outside, and this dragon looks quite old, so why is he pooping on the carpet in her bedroom?

But I can see why you like him. When he's being sweet, he really is very sweet. He has a nice expression, doesn't he? And I like the funny snoring noise he makes when he's asleep.

Are you having a good time at the beach? Is the sun shining? Are you swimming a lot?

It's raining here.

Love from your favorite nephew,

Eddie

P.S. The smell of burning was the curtains. I put out the fire with a saucepan full of water. Luckily, they had dried by the time Mom saw them.

Genre:

On Sale: Apr 12, 2016
Page Count: 96 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780316298988

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Josh Lacey

About the Author

Josh Lacey is the author of many books for children, including The Island of Thieves, Bearkeeper, and the Grk series. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a screenwriter before writing his first book, A Dog Called Grk. Josh lives in London with his wife and daughters.

Garry Parsons has illustrated several books for children and is the author and illustrator of Krong!, winner of the Perth and Kinross prize.

Learn more about this author