Kathryn Butler

Dragon and the Stone by Kathryn Butler is a well-written allegorical book similar to Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia. While it is not intended for adults, it is an engaging story, whetting the reader’s appetite to discover what comes next with each turn of the page.

There is no foul language or sexual content, and is appropriate for ages 13-18, with readability at ages 9 and up.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR PARENTS of younger children: Parents should be aware of magical and scary content in this book. There are mystical powers brought about by soothstones, and frightening images of what amounts to hell toward the end of the book, although one character, Pax, does come into that situation to rescue his stewards. Additionally, there are many other perilous situations with terrifying beasts described throughout. The book has little happiness and peace until the end, much like Lewis’ or Tolkien’s books.

In Dragon and the Stone, people wear magical "soothstones,” giving them special powers, much like characters in Lord of the Rings wore magical rings of power.

Similar to Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, the Christ figure in this story is a unicorn named Pax. He is able to help the main character, Lily, when she is in need. Pax possesses the power to heal and to make new. Readers can infer a connection to the God of the Bible, as the “Creator" in this story is the maker of the "Realm," which is the dreamland where the narrative takes place. There are mythical creatures in the book straight out of C.S. Lewis' writings.

At times, though, Biblical parallels are a little vague. Several times, Lily prays for help, but unfortunately, we're not told to whom she prays. She also uses her imagination to make things come to life, to cause her soothstone to do magic, and to summon Pax to come to her aid.

If you want a spell-binding read, full of swashbuckling heroes and heroines, fantastic creatures, and a look for God’s purpose in each moment of their lives, you’ll want to check out Dragon and the Stone!

—reviewed by Colleen… (meer)

I was aware that it was a children's fantasy book before I picked it out. I had not read the two previous books and was bothered by Pax, who at times, was a unicorn, but feel uncomfortable because what Pax said was directly from the Bible. I have always loved Unicorns but it made me feel a little weird.

I did read all of it but I also got exhausted by the constant perils that were one after another. I needed some rest and deep contemplation after all those action scenes.

The characters were cleverly done, but I did crave a message more subtly told. It does not help when know exactly what Pax would say before he said it. The characters are fine, I just wanted them to have the same message but handled differently. I did like that Lily rode on the dragonfly and that when she saw a big ugly creature she waited before forming an immediate opinion and became emphatic.… (meer)