The Dragon in the Bookshop

Konrad hasn’t said a word since his dad died five months, six weeks and three days ago. It isn’t that he doesn’t have anything to say; his mind is full of complicated thoughts and feelings. He just can’t find the words that will reconnect him with a world which no longer has Dad in it.

Then he meets Maya on the beach. She’s not like anyone he’s known before and something about her makes him willing to share his discovery of a curious, fossilised claw print – and to invite her to visit Dad’s bookshop before it is sold.

While reading Maya one of his favourite Polish folk tales, something remarkable happens. The pair find themselves engulfed by the story; whisked back in time to rescue a desperate city from an angry, and very hungry, dragon.

This intriguing mixture of contemporary life and ancient myth explores the desolation and trauma of losing a parent and how one boy finds his way back to his friends and family.

Connections between the real life and fantasy elements of the story bring positivity to both worlds and show how the spirit of a person stays behind even when they are gone.