Luna and the Sky Dragon by Bethan Woollvin

Luna is a young astronomer. She takes the time to observe the skies and notice patterns. People in her village make sense of the skies by assigning any phenomenon to the Sky Dragon - he is angry, he is happy, he is fighting. 

"Legends said that the Sky Dragon was banished to the sky after a battle, because of his fiery breath and quick temper."

When the villagers see a trail of bright stars they are sure the Sky Dragon's claws have torn open the sky whereas Luna is sure it is just a normal part of the galaxy. When the weather turns wild the villagers again blame the Sky Dragon - of course it is really just a thunderstorm. Then the moon vanishes. The people are terrified. It is an eclipse but of course they have no knowledge of these events. Luna is determined to explain all of these things to the people in her village, so she invites them to look through her telescope. 

"From then on, the villagers often joined Luna on clear nights and together they marveled at the stars."

The end papers in this book offer an explanation of the lunar eclipse and also mention Draco the Sky Dragon and his banishment by Athena. 

I was interested to read this book after it was recommended to me BUT when I discovered the connection to an ancient woman astronomer my interest increased tenfold. This book is based on the story of the Ancient Greek astronomer - Aglaonice. Aglaonice studied the moon and understood it appears to change shape and occasionally even disappears. BUT she was considered a sorceress for her ability to make the moon vanish.

Read more about Aglaonice:

History of Scientific Women

Kids Encyclopedia

Here are some other books by Bethan Woollvin:

You could explore the the theme of a young girl making scientific discoveries - try to find this book:

Oracle by Jackie French

“The wind smelled of rock and ice the night their father took Nikko’s sister out to die.” This is a wonderful opening sentence and if you have been reading for a long time you will know for certain this baby is not going to die and that Nikko will be our hero and he will rescue her. Jackie French is such a master storyteller. I simply devoured this wonderful book about life in Ancient Greece.

“Things done in darkness could be ignored. But it was daylight now. … His sister was safe.” I just had to tell you this part so you can breathe again knowing everything will be fine.

Nikko rescues Thetis and so changes the destiny of their lives. They live in a poor mountain village in a rocky environment where food is scarce and goats are the main source of income. Each year the High King sends his tribute gatherers to gather a tenth of the year’s produce. The people of Nikko’s village try to hide their best goats and their grain stores but Orkestres comes upon the children and their goats as they head up the mountain and so the village plans are thwarted.

Orkestres is not a solider or gatherer, he is an entertainer who performs for the High King and is also sent to distract the people in each village as their hard fought resources are taken away. Orkestres is a wonder to behold. “He was bare-chested…. His skin shone like a pot rubbed with oil. Stones shone from his earlobes and wrists and ankles … his hands were empty; he had not even a hunting spear of knife.”

It is Orkestres who will change the lives of Nikkos and Thetis forever. He sees in the siblings a special talent which he thinks might amuse the High King. He offers to swap the children for the village tribute. It is quite a chilling scene when their father simply states “You can take them.”

The new life is both wonderful and terrifying. These two children do indeed perform for the High King and their dance is breathtaking but there is also the constant threat of what might happen if they fail to please the High King.

When you read Oracle you will feel as though you are really in the castle eating the food, smelling the perfumes and soaking up the scenery. There are so many twists and turns in this plot I am not going to tell you everything it would be better to just read this book but if you are curious you could read this blog review.

This book is perfect for a mature Primary student and when you finish reading it you will most definitely want to seek out other books by this very talented writer. Look for Tajore Arkle as your next book it is a personal favourite of mine.