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. Eeleven-year-old Syms Covington is a fiddler, a cabin boy, and now assistant to Charles Darwin during his 1831 voyage on the HMS Beagle.

The bond between Syms and Farthing is the most important of the book and it takes a while to build, without making the book seem slow paced in the slightest. My favourite character was Farthing, the adorable lizard that gave Covington food, water and even beat up loads of seals to protect him. There are also so many ways this book could be used to support wider learning, including the evolution topic in Year 6 science, or using it to inspire geography or history learning. We find out that Syms was only a mere cabin boy in the Beagle before becoming Darwin’s trusted assistant.You totally feel transported back in time and that is Due to Lindsay Calvin's use of language and it feels like an authentic voice from the past. Darwin’s Dragons would be a perfect book to read alongside a unit on evolution or study of Charles Darwin. It’s probably one of the reason why I just couldn’t put this book down, I didn’t want to do anything else until I could say the characters, I had come to love and adore, where out of harms reach!

So many aspects of this tale are fascinating that it will no doubt encourage readers, young and old, to want to find out more about the history, the science or the people of this time.Second, the cover is just stunningly beautiful and you can't wait to dive in and be swept away in time, science and adventure. I loved the descriptions, the way the creatures were brought to life and how history was brought forwards to create this beautiful period of time where science was still coming forwards. Additionally, I would say the part of the story that most stood out to me was where Farthing was trying to help the servant survive on his island and saved him from death. Lindsay Galvin's writing style is wonderful, drawing readers into Syms Covington's world from his early days as a cabin boy to his awe-inspiring survival journey.

Tangled in the observations you’d expect from a trainee zoologist – the descriptions of behaviours and habitats, which is fascinating in itself – is Syms’ growing unease at how animals are studied. This historical adventure is a fantastic read, drawing the reader into the action right from the start. 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’? Syms, cabin boy turned Darwin’s assistant, is shipwrecked off of The Beagle in the Galápagos Islands…where he discovers a dragon.

First of all I was drawn to this book by its great title, you immediately know this is going to involve great real historical people. Later in the book it is revealed that Farthing was a baby dragon that had hatched earlier than the others.