The Clockwork Dragon
Jonathan Emmett and Elys Dolan
Oxford University Press pbk
When Max is sacked from the toymaker’s workshop he is forced to try his hand at the only job he sees advertised in the town.

Knowing that knights need armour, Max goes to the armourer’s workshop where he meets Lizzie, who although amused by Max’s intentions, gives him an idea. 

Equally important, she agrees to assist him in a spot of metalwork and together they toil for a week, heating, hammering, painting, patching and piecing together all the metal they can lay hands on. The result is a huge clockwork dragon.

Next morning, Flamethrottle, for that is the name of the human devourer, decides that only a plump princess or two will satisfy his hunger. Imagine his shock then, when on leaving his cave he is confronted by an even larger, fiercer looking dragon. No longer feeling quite so brave, Flamethrottle beats a path across the countryside towards the next kingdom, hotly pursued by Max and Lizzie in their wind-up contraption. And therein lies the rub: the clockwork motor runs down at the crucial moment leaving Max and Lizzie desperate to turn that vital key and get the creature moving again. Flamethrottle meanwhile realizes his pursuer has stopped. So can its creators manage to trick him into giving the key the vital turns it needs to set the thing in motion once more?

It’s either that or be baked alive …
The cocktail of dastardly dragons, mechanical and otherwise, wily and determined child characters and a rip roaring adventure combined with exciting illustrations packed with humorous details and mechanical ones, make this a sure fire winner for the young (and not so young). Certainly my child audiences demanded an immediate re-reading, pored over the inside covers as well as the action-packed colour spreads and were eager to know if the ‘A Max and Lizzie Adventure sign on the back cover heralds further adventures.

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