A slow burn middle grade fantasy with amazing characters and magical settings. Butler takes Lily on an unexpected journey into the Somnouim Realm where she has to overcome her own fears and grief in a bid to rescue the world from evil. Dealing with themes of loss, bullying and friendship this is a great read filled with magic and wonder.

Wow, what an awesome read! My kids and I chose to read this book in our homeschool as a family read aloud. We were blown away by the great storytelling and my kids would beg for one more chapter each time we read. I really loved how it kept us all on the edge of our seats. I loved that this book taught my children values like faith, endurance, strength, loyalty and more through each of the characters. We didn’t want the story to end and can’t wait to read book 2.

I wasn’t a fan of this book. The premise was very interesting but the writing just didn’t pull me in. However, I may not have been the target audience for this.

I was not able to get into the story, tried starting the book several times but just couldn't stay interested. Sorry! It seems fun enough to hold a young childs attention, but I am really not sure.

I enjoyed this little children's book and more importantly my 8 year old grandson liked it. It took a while to get through it because I don't see him often as he lives in another state. I love the combination of a Christian theme and fantasy.

First sentence: Lily McKinley trudged into the house, plodded to the kitchen, and froze. On the counter in front of her, with its barbed tail curled like a question mark, a dragon gobbled her mother's Crock-Pot chili.

Lily's world is falling apart. I was tempted to say seemingly falling part. But that wouldn't be true. No doubt, it is. Her father has died--or at least been reported so, no body found. Her mother is stressed, stressed, super-stressed. Her grandmother has dementia--or presumably so. Her mom is carrying the weight of the world, and Lily is trying to do her share--more than her share. She can no longer "afford" to daydream or let her imagination run away with her. So when she sees a DRAGON in her kitchen, well, she's flabbergasted, scared, and worried. Worried that her imagination is at play again. How could there be an actual real life dragon in her kitchen??? Her mother can't handle dragons! Her grandmother, well, she's too fragile. So once again, Lily feels the pressure to handle something on her own. And this dragon in the kitchen, well, it's just the start. Things only get weirder from here...

Lily soon finds herself NOT in this world but swept away to a fantasy realm where she, Lily, may be called upon to save the world...or at least do her share in saving the world. And it all has something to do with a STONE necklace that her father left for her. This stone is magical--not just because of who gave it to her--but because of its origin. It is from Eden. There were twelve stones, I think, and twelve keepers to protect the stones??? Anyway, the realm is in trouble and Lily (and her ever-growing company) are needed. But beware a betrayer may be in her midst.

I really enjoyed this one! I was super skeptical when I requested it for review. I didn't know how it would hold up. Would it be good? entertaining? something that I could actually recommend? Christian publishers and Christian authors aren't particularly well known for doing children's fantasy--C.S. Lewis excluded. But to be fair, the Narnia books were published in the 1950s. But I really enjoyed this one. I found it a compelling read. I enjoyed all the characters introduced. I thought the story was well-written.

First and foremost I need to thank the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lily McKinley, is struggling with loneliness thanks to her father being presumed dead, her mother working long hours and a grandmother whose memory is clearly fading and if that isn’t enough for a 12 year old to deal with she also has to face bullying each and every day at school.

Lily’s life gets turned upside down one day when she finds both her dad’s stone necklace in one of her favorite books and a Dragon eating her mom’s chili in the kitchen.

This is a fun and adventurous story for kids and also a very clean read! It’s filled with themes of friendship, hope, redemption, good vs evil, worry, grief, helping others, being kind all while at the same time using these themes to further the character growth..

Also the book is a very fast read as the action scenes are one after another with very little down time. I also really loved the nod / throwback to fantasy characters from my childhood such as Sir Lancelot, Merlin & Robin Hood.

All in all if your looking for a book to recommend to young readers who are interested in dipping their toes in fantasy and you want to make sure its a wholesome/clean story then look no further as I feel this series is a good jumping off point to welcome them into the wonderful world of fantasy books.

This was an exciting book, and like the fact that Kathryn introduces the manuscripts from the 12 century to middle grade readers. Crossway and Kathyrn wrote a book that would appeal to any age readers. For that reason,Ii am looking foward to the next installment.and would highly recommended the novel.
Lilli loves "King Arthur and his Knights" which takes her out of a tumultuous life that she lived with her mom and grandmother. Lilly's mom works in a care home, plus takes cares for gran who could not dress or feed herself, if this is not worse, her father died in an accident several monts ago. No child needed to learn the death of a parent.
This book was magical, and who cannot love a dragon, plus the main character was one. . Cedric, the mentioned dragon was the size of a labrador dog,"my name [...] is CedricAt your service "Along with Cedric, there was Adam, who has bullied Lilly, plus Adam stole her copy of King Arthur and is Knights. On top of everything else she has been through, the lesson of grief is hard is a lot to take on.
An incredible book with incredible characters. Thank you Kathryn L Butler, Crossway Publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading and reviewing this wonderful boo.

This was such a sweet book, I'm always looking for something to read to my nieces and though they were still a little bit too young for this title, it will definitely be read to them in a year or so. I loved the focus on friendship in this book and how we, often, are quite stubborn and set in our ways in a way that can hurt both ourselves and those around us.

The adventure was fun and imaginative, it never dragged and I think there is a great potential for rich world-building.

I also love anything with a talking dragon so, check! Cedric, I love you.

I'm curious to see where this saga will go, because it did seem to wrap up more neatly than I had expected it too, so I'm very interested to see what the author has planned for a continuation of the story. I have some mixed feelings on certain aspects of the ending, pertaining to fathers, but it wasn't anything that really bothered me.

I only have two complaints and they are somewhat minor, the first thing is that the first explanation of Eymah, by Cedric, was a bit obscure and I did feel like it was maybe a bit too advanced (in comparison with the rest of the book) depending on the target age of the book. If I were to read it to my nieces, even in a year, I would probably try to use simpler language.

My second complaint is granted a bit niche. But it is a pet peeve of mine. Start of rant: Now...it is technically and widely accepted to spell the plural of octopus as "octopi", a latin ending (to a greek word, mind. as I'm sure everyone knows), but my pet peeve is that really it should have a proper English ending, especially when directed at kids, i.e. octopuses. It has no business having a Latin ending, especially when even the Latin conjugation recognizes it as a third-declension noun meaning that the plural ending is octopodes, never octopi.) Long story short, let's end the madness and teach kids that in English it is octopuses from the get go. End of rant.

I'm sure no one cares much about that, but it is just one of those things that bug me whenever I see it.

But, what other potential readers can take away from this review is that this was a really fun kid's adventure with some great moments, and a probably even richer continuation in store.

I'm reading this to my 4 youngest kids, ages 5, 8, 10, and 11. We are all LOVING it! I've already decided that we'll be buying this book and the next one in hard copy. This is a great fantasy book for all ages. It has a dragon (thus the name), soothstone, dream world, and all the fantasy stuff you could want. The kids don't ever want to stop after just one chapter. According to my 11 year old, "it's very mysterious and a very good suspense book."

Highly recommend!

Butler takes many tried and true fantasy elements and adds some unique twists, including creating a world where dreams become real. There were moments when I was carried away by Lily and Adam's adventures and their unusual companions, but I was also easily able to put the book down. That may be because of my adult sensibilities. I've read too much Christian fantasy that all feels vaguely familiar. I suspect many middle grade readers won't mind. I also wish the book had more diversity among the characters. My non-white readers would love to see characters that look like them traveling to fantastic realms and fighting evil. Recommended for those readers wanting something after they've finished other series like "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Wingfeather Saga."

I read this book hoping to find something that would interest my 7(almost 8)-year-old advanced reader. As an adult, I enjoyed the book. It felt rushed at times to me (I would’ve liked to see more development in some sections), but was appropriately paced for younger readers. I liked the allegory and the adventure and think that my son is about a year away from having the maturity to appreciate this book.

The concept of the Realm is interesting; I love the world that Butler created. The sidekick characters created through Lily’s imagination were my favorite.

I look forward to reading the sequel and discussing this book with my son in about a year!

I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Lily McKinley has troubles, the least of which is day old banana crusted into her hair.

In just one day she has managed to upset her teacher, hurt her mourning mother, face off with the worst school bully, and let her imagination get the best of her. Again. Dragons do not exist, and certainly do not eat chili out of crockpots, after all.

In a burst of light at a most desperate moment, Lily is transported to the realm of Somnium, where her Father's secrets begin to unfold, leading Lily to wonder at the power of the stone she now holds & what really may have happened to her Dad. Dragons that shapeshift, evil shrouds of cunning, creation & loss, love & redemption. The journey is fraught with peril, especially for those chosen by destiny itself.

THANK YOU to Crossway & NetGalley for a reviewer's copy of The Dragon & the Stone, in exchange for my honest review & feedback.

The Dragon & the Stone strikes that perfect balance between adventure laced with danger, hope & redemption. The book deals with loss, love, & forgiveness, all wrapped up in an a fantasy I would recommend without reservation or hesitation. Excellent world building, engaging characters (amid which there are some familiar faces), enemies that make your blood boil & an unexpected friend or two.

Content Notes: This book details the loss of a parent, & has some typical school yard bullying.

This was a wonderful read! W magical story of a 12 year old girl who's soul feels much older than she is given all of the things she has gone through so far. I really felt for the character, having to deal with the loss of her father, and her school and family life. The option to escape into a fantasy world has been a longing for many people in this situation I think. Reading about Lily's adventures with Cedric made it hard to put the book down. I mean hey, who wouldn't love an adorable dragon companion? Overall I feel that the book had a great mix of real world situations mixed with magic world situations and seeing Lily overcome things has been a wonderful ride. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

3.5 Stars

What I Liked:

-The story gave me a little bit of Narnia vibes. I think fans of Lewis will like it.

-The creative fancy of the Realm was fun.

-We need more loyal British dragons who like chili. Cedric is fantastic.


What I Struggled With:

-It took me a little bit to orientate myself in the Realm.

-There were a couple points where the plot seemed rushed.


Overall Thoughts:

A fun start to The DreamKeeper Saga. I would have preferred if the author had dug a little more into the story and expounded things a tad more.

I loved this book! I read it as an ARC, then bought the paperback, and pre-ordered the sequel. What I loved was that you could see the Christian part of the story, but it wasn’t overpowering at all. Lily is wonderful, brave, and caring. The adventure is great fun and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Great book!!

Such a fun book! This book was action-packed and full of adventures. I immensely enjoyed the characters and plot. The Dragon and the Stone will surely satisfy any young fantasy reader. I recommend this book to any young reader who enjoys Robert Beatty's books.

This book was a really fun fantasy novel. My fifth-grade daughter read this one as well. She felt that this book would be perfect for third-sixth graders. We both loved the Narnia vibes in the novel! The Christian themes were powerful. The humor was great, and the writing overall was just what I would hope for in a book for my children. I will be highly recommending this one to my bookstagram community of home educators and parents looking for good middle grade reads!

This story has a fun premise-what if your dreams could actually come true? What if your dreams were an actual place the strange things you dream are real? That's the story of Lily, who's dad is missing but strange things keep happening to her. One day, a necklace that her dad always wore appears in a book and Lily is magically transported to a kingdom where dragons can talk, her dream characters were alive and active and an evil villain is trying to get her magical powers.

I loved this story. It’s a fun adventure, really great for middle grade. The pressure in the home, the need for an escape, the elements in the fantasy that are mysterious. I know my 9 year old is going to love this one.