
Maggie the Dragon: Chase your dreams!
Maggie the Dragon: Chase your dreams!
Tony Armstrong
Emma Sjaan Beukers
Hachette, 2025
32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99
9780734422187
Maggie the dragon loves flying and even though all dragons can fly, none can do skydives and barrel rolls and loop-de-loops as well as she can. That’s why she is seen as the best flier in the patrol and is in charge of protecting the most faraway edges of the kingdom. If an intruder appeared she would blast them with a burst of fire and then warn the kingdom, but although she loved her job, she would have liked to take a break and see the lands she was protecting.
Sadly, though, the last time she tried, she set a village on fire and although a small wizard called George put the fire out before the villagers were hurt, now everyone is afraid of her and so she has to stick to her lonely, faraway beat. Until the day green lightning indicates a furious storm is rolling in and she needs to warn the villagers immediately. But anxiety causes hiccups and hiccups mean she can’t control her fire – will she be able to warn the villagers in time, or will they be too afraid to listen? Or could there be another source of help coming?
Accompanied by the brightest, boldest illustrations that catch the eye and draw the reader right into the story, along with the formatting of the text which almost has a comic-book appearance with narration in blocks, dialogue in speech bubbles and some keywords presented in graphic form, there is an intriguing juxtaposition between Maggie being a dragon, a creature viewed by most young readers as fierce and fearless, yet also having a secret yearning that she is too afraid to follow.
This is a sequel to George the Wizard: Let your magic shine! and like its predecessor, it addresses another issue that young readers battle with – having a dream and wanting to chase it, bit fearful of taking the first step because they are worried what others might think. In fact, just this morning there was a post on a FB forum about a child, commonly viewed as sporty by peers and teachers, who revealed a talent for something quite different but had been wary of showing it. And few do not know the story of Tim Daley, the British diving gold medallist who took up knitting in between dives at the COVID-affected, spectator-less Tokyo 2020 Olympics and now has his own fashion line.

While there are lots of stories for young children that address these sorts of social themes – being yourself, accepting others, being inclusive while celebrating diversity – the dynamic layout and colours of this series offers that “something extra” that not only sets it apart but also means it will appeal to its audience.