Review: A delightful virtual world chock full of colorful characters
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 23, 2012
When James meets Mr. McKenzie, his eccentric elderly neighbor, and expresses an interest in his many inventions, Mr. McKenzie invents a contraption just for him. "The Dragon Box" is just a small cube-shaped box with a start button. At the push of the button, James is transported to a medieval world with wizards and queens and dragons and witches and goblins and, well, you get the picture. Strangely, the wizard seems just like McKenzie and the witch looks just like Mom and the goblins resemble the two bullies in James' neighborhood. James' goal is to retrieve a crystal from the witch to save the Kingdom of Grobnog.This well-crafted book is full of wonderful, colorful characters. James proves himself resourceful, intelligent and compassionate as he accomplishes each task demanded by the witch in exchange for the crystal. As it is a bit long-winded, I recommend it for advanced middle grade readers.