View source for Rumblewick and the Dinner Dragons (The Rumblewick Letters) by Hiawyn Oram and Sarah Warburton

{{infobox2
|title=Rumblewick and the Dinner Dragons (The Rumblewick Letters)
|author=Hiawyn Oram and Sarah Warburton
|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=An enjoyable story of a witch, her cat and his friend, told through letters. Kids will love the fold-out sections and Sarah Warburton's excellent illustrations, but it doesn't quite draw you in as much as it could. It's still worth a look, particularly for reluctant readers.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Orchard
|date=January 2010
|isbn=978-1846160646
|aznuk=1408308584
|aznus=1846160642
|cover=1408308584
}}

Haggy Aggy is an unscary witch and decides she wants to make friends with dragons. Her cat, Rumblewick Spellwacker Mortimer B, is a little unsure of this, so writes to his friend Grimey for advice. Their correspondence fills this latest book in the ''Rumblewick Letters'' series, following on from [[My Unwilling Witch (The Rumblewick Letters) by Hiawyn Oram|My Unwilling Witch]].

With a healthy smattering of recipes to unfold, flaps to lift, and books within books to flick through, ''Rumblewick and the Dinner Dragons'' will immediately grab the attention of its young audience. All but the first page has the story told through the letters between Rumblewick and Grimey, which gives everything a different slant to the usual books out there. Reluctant readers, in particular, will lap it up, as the story is told as much through the pictures as the text - it's a book they'll enjoy, rather than feel duty-bound to read.

Less reluctant readers, and parents reading it to younger children, might not be quite so enthralled. The story is fairly simple and as fun as the extras are initially, they're not quite as engaging as other books. Compared to, say, Emily Gravett's [[The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett|Rabbit Problem]] or [[Spells by Emily Gravett|Spells]], ''Rumblewick and the Dinner Dragons'' doesn't draw you in as much, or have quite as much going for it. 

I really enjoyed Sarah Warburton's illustrations. They perfectly suit the madcap witchy world. Every page is a joy to pore over, with its spiders, eyeballs and all manner of gruesomeness. There's nothing remotely scary, but it has an appropriately spooky tone that works really well.

I'd have preferred a bit more of the plot being told outside the letters - it would have made for a slightly stronger tale - but ''Rumblewick and the Dinner Dragons'' will strike a chord with young book fans who enjoy the novelty of flaps and something a little different to the norm. Worth a look.

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

The previously-mentioned [[Spells by Emily Gravett]] is a great choice for further reading. [[Winnie's Amazing Pumpkin by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul]] has a similar light-hearted witchy tone and is great fun.  You might also enjoy [[Time For Dinner by June Morley]].

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[[Category:Hiawyn Oram]]
[[Category:Sarah Warburton]]