Prince Warden and the Dragon Stones Book Club! (with special treats)
Updated: Oct 7
Here's a little post of Prince Warden and the Dragon Stones fun!
I find it delightful to have bookish activities that go along with stories, especially if a yummy recipe is involved (Read-Aloud-Revival is the master of this). I decided to compile something to go along with Prince Warden and the Dragon Stones.
I hope there is something here for you to enjoy!
My Special Playlist
"A horn sang out over the city. Deep and musical, it thrummed in Warden's chest."
This is a playlist of instrumental music I listened to while writing Prince Warden and the Dragon Stones. The songs are all dramatic orchestra-style soundtrack music (great for writing battle scenes!).
Cool Video About Dragons!
"his gaze was fixed on the creature passing above him: the horns on its head, the curving teeth, the spines along its back, the bones lacing out through its wings. He was too shocked to be scared. A dragon."
Here is a super cool video about dragons and dinos. If you do nothing else here, you've got to watch some of this. I say this a lot on my blog, but God's world is truly as fantastical as any fantasy novel, and this lecture is an awesome reminder of that.
Dragonish Booklist
"Warden closed the book. Its leather cover was worn, and the emblem of the Kingdom of Lockvard was indented on the front: a gem with a sword thrust behind it. The book's tattered pages were a creamy yellow, and the smell of old leather and adventure hung about it."
I looked through my commonplace journals and created a list of all the books with dragons in them. I remember enjoying all of these, but I don't remember everything from them, so bear that in mind. They are all Middle Grade Fantasy. It is neat to look back and see all the marvelous and varied dragon adventures I have gone on throughout the years!
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson.
This is the first book of one of my favorite series. It is written from a Christian worldview and has action, adventure, creepy critters, evil villains, and mystery. The themes woven throughout it really touched me.
Henry and the Chalk Dragon by Jennifer Trafton
Great fun! This is an easy read for children. It's about a timid artist who turns into a hero. I did a blog post involving quotes from this one a while back. (Release The Dragons! (My writerly quest) )
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
One of the ultimate classic dragon tales. A home-loving hobbit thrust into an adventure with thirteen dwarves to reclaim their treasure from a dragon. Of course, there is scariness and action in this one!
Where The Mountain Meets The Moon by Grace Lin
This is a sweet adventure story with Chinese folklore woven throughout in a beautiful, engaging way.
Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George.
This story has a light-hearted, humorous tone with classic fantasy elements told with a fun twist. There is magic, a small amount of romance, and a brief mention of a kiss.
How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
I enjoyed this story when I was ten, and I enjoyed it again recently, though not as much. It is humorous and an easy read. Though, fair warning, it does have a lot of potty humor. There is also one very rough pencil sketch of a rear end. The book is very different from the movie.
The Dragon's Tooth by N.D. Wilson
This is the first book in the Ashtown Burials series. It doesn't actually have any dragons in it, but the second book in the series (The Drowned Vault) does. This story is violent and includes seriously creepy things, but it also has meaningful themes and lots of cool history references throughout.
(I did a blog post about The Drowned Vault: Fear No Evil)
The Edge of Extinction by Laura Martin
Because dinosaurs are dragons! I remember there being lots of breathless action in this story. I think there is some of the "millions of years" nonsense concerning the dinosaurs.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
This is another beloved classic tale, and one I usually don't think of as a dragon story.
The Farmer of Giles' Ham by J.R.R. Tolkien
This is a story by Tolkien that I didn't know about for the longest time. It is short and sillier than the other stories I have read by him.
Andrew and the Firedrake by Douglas Wilson
This story was rather weird. I liked it in a way. It was clean, but it had a symbolic feel to it and didn't fully make sense to me.
Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull
This is well into the Fablehaven series (it's the fourth book). It has magical monsters and scariness. A little romance.
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
I read this story before I had a commonplace journal, but I thought I should mention it because it might have been the first dragon story I have ever read. I remember it being fun and interesting. (though the boy disobeys his mom and runs away at the beginning of the story)
Dragon Stone Cookies
"He seekss three stoness and already hass one."
As I said, I love it when books have recipes to go with them. These cookies are easy to make and have a delicious buttery taste without being too sweet. And making them this way is super fun!
This recipe is from: https://handletheheat.com/soft-chewy-sugar-cookies/#toc-soft-and-chewy-sugar-cookies
I just shape them smaller and add a colorful twist to transform them into Dragon Stones.
Ingredients
2½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter (1 cup), softened at room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar, plus ¼-1/2 cup for rolling
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
red, blue, and green food coloring
Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a larger bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter and 1 1/4 cups of sugar until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk, and vanilla, and beat until combined (scrape the sides when it seems like it needs it). Gradually beat in the flour mixture.
Now for the fun part.
Divide the 1/4 cup of sugar between three small bowls (1 tablespoon and a teaspoon for each bowl). Put a drop of blue in one bowl, a drop of green in another, and a drop of red in another. Use a fork and your hands to mix and meld the color into the sugar, washing your hands before switching to a new color so the colors don't mix.
Scoop up the dough using a tablespoon and roll the dough into a ball. Drop the ball into the desired colored sugar and roll to cover and create a dragon stone. Replenish the colored sugar as needed.
Place the dragon stones on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Let cool for a few minutes (okay, I'm gonna shoot straight, we may have a problem letting things cool in my family...).
Then gobble them up before someone tries to destroy the world with them!
You could also eat green grapes, blueberries, and round strawberry slices for dragon stones if you want a healthy option for a snack to go with the book. : )
Conclusion
There you have it!
There's lots to explore and enjoy, and I know I'll probably think of more things to add after I post this. If you haven't read Prince Warden and the Dragon Stones and are now curious, you can buy it here!
Happy reading, and listening, and eating.
