The teenager spends several terrifying days on the island before he is reunited with HMS Beagle and its crew. There's the wonderful novels by Emma Carroll, The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr, The Water's Daughter by Michelle Lovric and The Vanishing Trick by Jenni Spangler but this is definitely a genre I'd like to read more of with my little readers. As I was reading this, it was difficult not to see glimpses of ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ by Michael Morpurgo and should definitely be added to the TBR pile of those who enjoyed Morpurgo’s take on finding yourself on a deserted island. Igazi nyári olvasmány, az a fajta kalandregény, amit ha gyerekként olvasod, akkor befalod a nyári szünet egy tikkadt meleg délutánján, lekváros kenyeret majszolva a nagyszüleid kertjében. The Galapagos Islands landscape is drawn as a rough but remarkable jewel with its stark terrain and abundant wildlife, and the characters are great.

I did not like the royals, because they could see that Farthing and his siblings were not very happy and did not look well.

But there’s a documented gap in their correspondence, and this is a period in history that Lindsay Galvin has plumbed with her brilliant imagination to ask ‘what if’? Darwin’s Dragons would be a perfect book to read alongside a unit on evolution or study of Charles Darwin. Some beautiful imagery in the Galapagos Islands and I loved the sense of exploration and discovery in this section.

In the world of children’s literature, there seems to be an ever-growing market for books about dragons, and therefore it is lovely to see a take on dragons that brings them more into real life. The cover, designed by Steve Wells, with its excellent maps and illustrations by Gordy Wright – is attractive, informative and well-executed. Farthing was by far my favourite character because I found it so interesting that she had adapted to living on this volcanic island by getting fruits from prickly plants.With short chapters and being split into parts makes Darwin’s Dragons a great choice for a class text as it is easy to fit into the very busy timetable within the primary school classroom, but also allows readers with less stamina to still access a longer text. The ending, set twenty-five years later will leave the reader with a satisfying feeling of wonder and belief. But when a storm separates him from the rest of the crew, he comes to know of a more extraordinary life form there, the dragons. When taking to the water, Syms is pretty confident, but as Darwin’s legendary ship, The Beagle, passes through the Galápagos Islands, a storm hits and he is thrown over board.