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Ember the Fire Dragon: An Acorn Book (Dragon Hill, #1)

Ember the Fire Dragon: An Acorn Book (Dragon Hill, #1)

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Author(s)

Tracey West

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Carolina Vazquez

Publisher

Scholastic

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

October 07, 2025

ISBN

978-1546193142

Buy This Book

Ember the Fire Dragon and Gus the Mushroom Dragon search for a magic jewel in the first installment of this full-color, fantasy, beginning-reader series written by the New York Times bestselling author of Dragon Masters!

Pick a book. Grow a Reader!

This series is part of Scholastic's early reader line, Acorn, aimed at children who are learning to read. With easy-to-read text, a short-story format, plenty of humor, and full-color artwork on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and fluency. Acorn books plant a love of reading and help readers grow!

Dragon Hill is in trouble! The magic jewel that protects Dragon Hill has gone missing, and best friends Ember the Fire Dragon and Gus the Mushroom Dragon work together to find the jewel. But they are young dragons and they don't yet know how to use their dragon powers. The two friends follow squirrel paw prints and meet a helpful Tree Dragon. Will they be able to find the magic jewel?

Gus and Ember's adventure is told through five full-color short stories with easy-to-read text throughout! This series is set in the same fantasy world as Tracey West's New York Times bestselling Dragon Masters series, making Dragon Hill a perfect choice for budding readers who aren't quite ready to read Dragon Masters yet!

Editor review

1 review

engaging chapter book for budding readers

November 01, 2025 (Updated: June 29, 2026)

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

EMBER THE FIRE DRAGON is an engaging early chapter book with a bit of mystery and magic. Ember is a small Fire Dragon who has trouble controlling her powers. When the jewel that protects Dragon Hill goes missing, everyone is searching for it. With the help of some friends, Ember is able to locate the jewel and restore the magical protection to Dragon Hill once more.

What I loved: This style of book is fantastic for early independent readers. It uses short stories to help break up a larger one, with a chapter-like feel. There are only a few sentences on each page along with colorful and engaging illustrations that make it feel like an extended early reader/picture book. Sentences are brief and font is large and clear to aid in independent reading with repeated structure and words throughout. This really helps young readers gain confidence as they follow along and read new words alongside repeated ones.

The story itself is very cute with a light mystery that Ember and her friend Gus are eager to solve. The feeling of wanting to help and wanting to be your best are ones that will resonate with the intended audience. The mystery was fairly benign but took some fun twists and turns with a few surprises along the way. Ember's diligence and curiosity save the day as she and Gus follow the clues and find the jewel.

The illustrations are fantastic - full of color and fun details that bring the characters to life on every page. These images will keep readers engaged and turning pages, also helping with context clues for when they might get stuck on a new word.

Final verdict: EMBER THE FIRE DRAGON is an engaging chapter book that is perfect for budding independent readers who enjoy a touch of mystery and magic!