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northwyrm 's review for:
The Griffin's Feather
by Cornelia Funke
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First disclaimer - I am not the intended audience. I read 'Dragon Rider' in 2003 when I was 6 years old, and I loved it and it was part of my childhood. Dragon Rider: The Griffin's Feather came out 13 years later when I was 19 so as an adult I read it thinking "This book is fun, if I was a child i would enjoy this", but if you are a child and say "no this book is not great" then your opinion will weigh more than mine.
Like the first book in the series, this book takes creatures from mythology and gives them fun twists; griffons are now the opposite of dragons, dragons being creatures of the moon while griffins are creatures of the sun. The winged horses all have metallic colours.
The story has a pro-conservation message about respecting the environment and wild animals, and it is a cute story for anyone who likes magic and animals. The story starts in Norway in a secret magic animal safe haven (set up between the finale of book 1 and the start of book 2), and the characters travel to Indonesia where griffins, who normally live in Persia, have made a griffin kingdom on one of the islands. The author uses her knowledge of bird and monkey species to really set the scene for being in Indonesia (I don't think she specifies which island, and it might be a secret, magical island? It has been four years since I read this...) and has a token nod to some local conflicts involving poaching and trying to make a living from the land, but it tends to be a black-and-white message of 'poaching is bad', which is good enough for a children's book (going into the politics of 'poor people might literally need to each bushmeat to survive' would over complicate a narrative which is mainly focused on trying to take a feather from a golden griffon - the poachers in this book are taking monkeys for the pet trade, which is obviously wrong).
Firedrake, the cute and friendly dragon from book 1, has a much more casual role in this book. He is torn between staying with his family (baby dragons are on the way!!!!) and going on adventures with Ben. Firedrake feels a bit flatter in this book compared to the previous one, but as he takes backstage he allows other characters to shine!
Like the first book in the series, this book takes creatures from mythology and gives them fun twists; griffons are now the opposite of dragons, dragons being creatures of the moon while griffins are creatures of the sun. The winged horses all have metallic colours.
The story has a pro-conservation message about respecting the environment and wild animals, and it is a cute story for anyone who likes magic and animals. The story starts in Norway in a secret magic animal safe haven (set up between the finale of book 1 and the start of book 2), and the characters travel to Indonesia where griffins, who normally live in Persia, have made a griffin kingdom on one of the islands. The author uses her knowledge of bird and monkey species to really set the scene for being in Indonesia (I don't think she specifies which island, and it might be a secret, magical island? It has been four years since I read this...) and has a token nod to some local conflicts involving poaching and trying to make a living from the land, but it tends to be a black-and-white message of 'poaching is bad', which is good enough for a children's book (going into the politics of 'poor people might literally need to each bushmeat to survive' would over complicate a narrative which is mainly focused on trying to take a feather from a golden griffon - the poachers in this book are taking monkeys for the pet trade, which is obviously wrong).
Firedrake, the cute and friendly dragon from book 1, has a much more casual role in this book. He is torn between staying with his family (baby dragons are on the way!!!!) and going on adventures with Ben. Firedrake feels a bit flatter in this book compared to the previous one, but as he takes backstage he allows other characters to shine!