Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Children's UK for this eCopy to review

Ember Spark and the Thunder of Dragons is a magical adventure following Ember as she tries to rescue magical creatures. Can she defeat the arch villain Jasper Hornswoggle?

Full of friendship, bravery, animals and adventure. The illustrations are fantastic and bring Elphinstone's story to life. A fantastic story for 7+ year olds, I cannot wait for the rest of the series.

Ember Spark embarks onto an adventure she did not see coming and yet has been dreaming about for a very long time.

And then the adventure is here and decisions have to be made, magical animals need to be rescued and soon Amber finds herself confronted with Arno, a fellow apprentice, who is different to her and challenges her decision to go it all alone after her father left their family just by being there.

I thoroughly loved & enjoyed this story that is written into a Scottish landscape, features the sea and the lochs as well and mixes magic with the real world in wonderful, wondrous ways.

Ember Spark is a strong and fierce character, quite unlike any I have recently come across in children's literature, but she also has a magical touch with animals where she can live her softer side. She deserves to be read far and wide & hopefully many more adventures are going to come her respectively our way.

“Adventures are a bit like hiccups, they can happen to anyone at anytime.”

Ten year old Ember Spark lives in Yawn, where nothing exciting ever happens. Or at least that is what she thinks until she rescues a stranded hamster and her world changes forever. Ember has an unusual gift with animals and so when she finds out that there are magical creatures everywhere and they need her help, she leaps to action. Mrs Rickety Knees, her school teacher, sends her off to Stonechatter Cave where she must help Rusty Fizzbang out of his predicament by becoming his apprentice vet to magical beasts and undergo a baptism of fire as she races to save a heart broken dragon and fights off the evil Jasper Hornswoggle who is intent on stealing and selling these rare creatures. Can she succeed and can she learn to let someone close and work as a team or will she keep her walls well and truly up and stay isolated?

Aside from a whole host of fabulous magical beasts and highly inventive names, this book is full of adventure and perfectly aimed at children aged 8-10. Whilst some elements are sinister, there are funny moments throughout, balancing the book perfectly . Great vocabulary acted as a challenge for our readers but the beautiful black and white illustrations throughout meant that the text was never overwhelming. We love Abi Elphinstone’s other books and this is no different. We are hoping that it is the start of a long series of books following Ember and Arno as they complete their apprenticeship and build their trust and courage respectively.


Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for sending this eBook for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Absolutely loved this, a brilliant start to a new series by Abi Elphinstone. Adventure, magic, friendship, quirky characters and brave children - everything I love in a children's book. Fantasy but not silly which is such an important balance to strike. It left me with a warm feeling in my tummy when I'd finished reading. 💜

I can't wait for this to be published as I know the children at school will love it! I would love a copy for the library.

I think this is the perfect story for children age 8-12, but would be absolutely fine for year 3 too.

This was definitely a highlight of our Easter reading sessions ,as we knew it would be. Abi Elphinstone is right at the top of the children's favourites authors list and continues to deliver great exciting stories for the whole family. The characters are always magical but relatable and I think that this is part of any we love the books.

I absolutely loved this and will 100% be purchasing this for my twins who I think will devour this as quickly as I did! A huge dollop of magical beasts, a hidden cave and animal 'vet', a flying bathtub and danger too - Abi Elphinstone has written another superb children's book. Ember herself is a fantastic heroine - gutsy and brave, eager to prove herself and teamed with Arno, the new boy in the school, and her new pet hamster - who can shine brightly like a torch obviously - it's a wonderful trio to head up this lower MG read.

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **

EMBER SPARK AND THE THUNDER OF DRAGONS is the start of a charming adventure full of magical creatures and a magical bathtub.

It's such a fun book, bringing all sorts of mythical creatures to life right under our noses. Ember and her new friend Arno have an epic adventure in one night, trying to save two creatures from a dangerous villain. I sped through it, whisked away in the flying bathtub that gives you exactly what you need - but you might need to do some thinking to work out how to use the objects.

There's so much imagination in the book, working out what veterinary care would be like for dragons and griffins. The book is set in Scotland, so the Loch Ness monster features! There are also creatures the author has made up, like the nibblesqueak, that give it a unique flair.

This is a lower MG book, like THE DREAMSNATCHER series, for readers who are a bit youngers and wanting to push their reading confidence. It's charming tale of making a new friend and discovering a whole new magical world. Not to mention discovering the adults trust you with the secret and trust you with looking after such amazing creatures!

The book is illustrated by Kristina Kister who brings alive both rain-soaked castles and magical caves. The illustrations were mostly on the larger side, rather than lots of small, single object illustrations scattered about, which is what I prefer.

This is the first book in a new series and it's not too long to wait for the sequel, out later this year!

A fantatsic read aloud book that has hreat adventure, magical characters and leeps the reader and listener hooked. Wanted to keep reading but did not want it to end!

Another fabulous book written in the way that only Abi Elphinstone can. I love the idea of magic being unpredictable and like hiccups! Ember is desperate to find herself an adventure and goodness me does she find one! I found myself immediately drawn into the story through the rich description, the magical animals and the sense of jeopardy facing them. My favourite was definitely Forty Winks who is a nibblesqueak! I think my class will love this and it would make a fabulous read out loud with lots of opportunities for cliff hangers.
I do hope that there will be a book 2!

A fast paced adventure including magical creatures and two young friends. Lots was packed into this story and it made for a very fast read. I am looking forward to the next book in the series - hopefully Ember will be a little kinder to Arno! Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers.

Abi Elphinstone always pens imaginative fantasy and this is no exception! The magical realism is vivid enough to capture anyone wanting a bit of escapism, and the writing style is accessible and familiar to a mid-junior age range. Cracking adventure with underlying humour, a dastardly villain, perfect level of peril and plenty of mythical creatures. I'm off to start scanning cliff tops and mountains for tell-tale signs of dragons...

Ember Spark lives in Yawn, very boring village in Scotland. She spends her days alone staring at the Swirling Soup - she doesn't want friends - or reading about superhero Gutsy Wonder. She wants an adventure but doesn't expect it to start with rescuing a superhero hamster from the sea.

I really enjoyed this story. The writing was excellent, I was fully immersed in the adventure, staying up far too late to find out what happened to Shiver.
The characters are well written and varied, with brilliant names - there are some horrible characters that you definitely don't like!

It's the start of a series, so the story resolves but leaves some questions. It seems that Ember's old friends will be introduced more in book 2. Can't wait!

I think my 7 year old son will love this book, so I'll be reading it again as a bedtime story for him.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed the story of Ember Spark, and seeing her friendship with Arno grow.

I am really hoping that in the future we can revisit and Miss Rickety-knees and see what adventures Ember and Arno go on and seeing if Jaspers gang come back to try and take more from the magic beasts.

Fun magical story! This one was really fast paced and you will be surprised how quickly you will read this. It is about Ember Spark rescuing a hamster and then being sent to work as an apprentice for a vet for magical creatures. Ember Spark, just like the name, is full of spark! There are villains who are after the magical creatures and themes of friendship in this quick read. If you love middle grade fantasy and adventurous books, you'll enjoy this.

Ember Spark
By Abi Elphinstone
Published by Simon & Schuster Ltd


The first in a new series from Abi Elphinstone comes Ember Spark - what a great name and such a strong character! Similar to her other bestselling and former Children's Book of the Month Sky Song, Ember Spark finds her adventure to be full of risk, decisions and magical creatures who are in need of an apprentice.

Rusty Fizzbang, vet to magical beasts, recruits Ember Spark, with her unlikely friend, Arno, when they are sent on a very strange mission by their teacher Mrs Rickety-knees. But missions are never simple. Coupled with the school bullies and jealous class mates, Ember has some tricky decisions to make as the adventure unfolds.

Because keeping magical beasts a secret isn’t an easy task, especially when they are missing their loved ones, have a broken horn or need medication. Ember and Arno have no time to spare!
Then with arch-villain, Jasper Hornswoggle, hot on their heels and keen to catch the magical beasts for himself, Ember and Arno have to put themselves between magic, danger and failure.

A fantastic opening book driven by friendship, determination, trust and loyalty. Abi Elphinstone delivers another great children’s book that will capture and inspire the reader time after time. I can’t wait for the next instalment.

Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.
#Netgalley
#waterstones
#goodreads

Ember Spark is lonely and a bit sad, since her dad moved out and she's decided if he can leave so can anyone and that having friends is a bad idea. What she does want is an adventure but living in a tiny village called Yawn doesn't make it very likely that will happen!

One grey afternoon however, Ember manages to rescue a hamster at the beach and after that, well, it seems the impossible isn't as hard to find as she'd thought! There is a new boy in her class called Arlo but as Ember doesn't do friends and has avoided him she isn't altogether sure how, as her day becomes seriously amazing, he's still right there joining in. Ember thought nothing exciting would ever happen in Yawn, how wrong was she!

The first in a series for ages 7+ this is exciting and fast moving but in a gentle way. Ember Spark is a great main protagonist who is quite hard on herself at times but has a very obliging mum who lets her go off exploring without too many qualms! The artwork is lovely and the storyline has just enough jeopardy to keep you reading with a torch under a duvet on a school night!

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Simon & Schuster Children's UK, but the opinions expressed are my own. I love the anticipation of the release of a new book in a series and this is a great introduction to that pleasure for younger readers. Recommended.

What a fantastic little book this is. I am in my 50's and loved it.

Ember is a bit of a loner, a bit of a bully, and a bit mean. However she has an affinity for animals and one day she sees a creature clinging to life on a rock in the sea and rescues it. That leads her to a discovery that magical creatures exist and she is tasked to help a vet of magical creatures care for sick and injured magical beasts.

This was a fun little story, would buy in hardback as i love illustrated hardbacks and collect them. This is a book designed for hardback with glossy pages and colour illustrations, its a book to be treasured.

Would love to see a sequel, but can we make Ember a little less mean as i dont think its okay to teach kids that its okay to talk to others like garbage!

Abi’s books never fail to fill me with magical, fantastical delight, and blow me away with the amazing creatures, brilliant characters and gorgeous messages. And you’ve got all of this in here! Ember is so wonderful - she’s brave and kind; she’s full of wonder and adventure. She’s got a great friend in Arno. There’s a proper villainous baddie, an unlikely ally and flying bathtubs! I can’t wait to read more from this series - loads of promising stuff to come.

I was so excited to see the release of a new Abi Elphinstone book as I have previously enjoyed her books.
Rusty Fuzz bang is a vet to magical beasts and is in need of some assistance.
Ember Spark is on the lookout for adventure and it certainly comes her way in the form of a dragon, a flying bathtub, a baddie and a reluctant accomplice.
This was a great read, I think it will be a really popular read.

I have everything crossed that this is the first in a series - jam packed full of magical creatures and heart stopping moments as we follow the feisty female protagonist as she learns to trust people and make friends with the help of her quiet but strong partner. A fabulous read that needs to be devoured.