Excerpt:
"Help!" he cried with what little breath he had left. "Quick, help!"

His little hands tugged at the sleeping dragons tail, and he pulled at Sorrel`s furry coat until he had a tuft of her hairs in his fingers. Firedrake opened his eyes sleepily. Sorrel jumped as if a snake had bitten her.

"Are you crazy?" she spat at the homunculus. " What the ________?" But she got no further.
"It`s the young master!" cried Twigleg shrilly. " Please, come quick! Quick! A bird- a giant bird has carried him off."

Firedrake was on his feet at once." Where to?" he asked.

"It flew toward the dragon mountains," said Twigleg, "You must follow it!"

"But we cant," groaned Sorrel, pointing to the sky." Firedrake cant fly now. The moon set ages ago."

"Find that little flask !" said Firedrake. "And hurry."

Her paws trembling, Sorrel found the flask of moon-dew in Bens backpack and put three drops of it on Firedrakes tongue. Holding their breath, she and Twigleg stared at the dragon. He closed his eyes, opened them again, and went to the edge of the precipice.

"Quick, climb aboard," he called as the wind blew beneath his wings, raising them in the air." We must try it."

Sorrel grabbed Twigleg and the backpacks and climbed up on Firedrakes back. The dragon spread his wings, took off and ------ flew."

Dragon Rider is a wonderful story about an adventurous journey undertaken by three friends, Firedrake - the dragon, a brownie called Sorrel and Ben, an orphaned boy.

The dragons have been safe from mankind for a long time, but now danger creeps up on them fast, as Rosa the Rat and Sorrel the brownie bring  bad news that the humans are soon coming to claim their land. Hasty plans are laid and Firedrake begins his quest to find the dragons only hope of a safe sanctuary - the Rim of Heaven in the Himalayas.

Firedrake and his two friends, Sorrel the brownie and Ben the little orphaned boy embark on a remarkable journey full of adventures to the legendary place. A curious map made by a town rat named Gilbert Graytail, and some little bits of information from the mouth of an old dragon are all they have to guide them as they fly across moonlit lands and seas to reach the highest mountains in the world - the rim of heaven.

Cornelia Funke has written over forty books and Inkheart, Thief Lord and now Dragon Rider are some of her best. She graduated from the University of Hamburg and completed a course in book illustration at the Hamburg State College of Design. She lives near Hamburg, Germany with her husband and two children. He stories have won her international acclaim and have a universal appeal.

Book Facts :
Format - Hardcover
ISBN CODE - 0-439-45695-9
Published by :Scholastics Incorporated
Distributed in India by Young Zubaan (zubaanwbooks@vsnl.net)
Special Indian Price - Rs. 395.00
No. of Pages: 523