Night Sky Dragons

Night Sky Dragons by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham, illustrated by Patrick Benson (Walker Books)

HC RRP $ 27.95

ISBN 9781406309850

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Co-authored by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham, this elegant book with its fine line illustrations in colours of the desert are presented on coloured pages. The story is reminiscent of the age of the Silk Road, and its caravanserais where merchant traders found shelter and safety, and carried more than wondrous wares, silk, and gunpowder.

Motherless Yazul waits for spring, the kite-flying season of warm winds. His grandfather’s workshop is his haven and where he learnt the art of building kites. Here the old man and the boy play games that involve dragons that appear when the gods are angry.

His father is the protector of the han. Business and money, travel and trade are his focus. Yazul will inherit this responsibility. But for now he is mischievous and curious, and prone to getting into trouble. It is during one of these mischievous moments that his carelessness causes his grandmother to drop the dish which tells the history of his people. This is seen as a bad omen. His father punishes him by sending him to the kitchens to work as a drudge.

He misses the changing of the season, but learns about the bandits that have come to attack their han. Finding no way to enter, they wait. Without water and food, it is just a matter of time before the citizens surrender.

It is Yazul’s ingenious idea that drives away the bandits. But there is one more act of reparation for Yazul to undertake before he can be forgiven.

Mysterious Traveller

Mysterious Traveller by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham, illustrated by P.J. Lynch (Walker Books)
HC RRP $29.95
ISBN 9781406337075
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis


Issa the guide has magic eyes. He can read the desert better than anyone, ‘its tracks and its tricks…its moods and its mountains’. His life changes the day he finds a ribbon floating in the air and the baby protected by a camel in the desert.

The old man names the baby Mariama. As she grows older, Issa knows she’s been sent to him to be his eyes for he has slowly become blind. Mariama must learn to describe the world with words for Issa.

Then three men arrive. Issa with Mariama agree to guide them through the Bitter Mountains for the payment of a bag of pearls which will be kept as a dowry for the orphan girl. But the travellers renege on the agreement when they realize that Issa is blind and they set off alone into the desert. Issa reads the wind and knows danger looms so he and Mariama follow the men in order to save their lives.

An incredible story is revealed by the mysterious, youngest traveller. It’s a story of loss which goes far back in time and one that is tied to Mariama. Issa’s life changes course again.

This is an extraordinary book which is ideal for older readers. The story is inspired by a real happening during the travels of the gold and salt caravans in Africa. The illustrator’s use of muted earthy colours combines with the moving lyrical language to rise like a crescendo from the page.

P. J. Lynch, the illustrator of the magnificent The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski, has done a superb job. He has set the pictures inside decorative frames reminiscent of the Arabian Nights. The jacket cover is breathtaking and replicated on the book’s cover which shows Mariama and the blind Issa looking out into the distance at the desert.