Even though she’s only 12 years old, Lily McKinley already feels the weight of the world’s brokenness. She’s seen it in her mother’s exhaustion, her grandmother’s illness, and the cruelty of Adam, the bully at her school. But most tragically, she experienced it two months ago when her father died in a terrible accident.

As an artistic daydreamer, Lily has a brilliant imagination to help her cope, but that imagination often gets her into trouble. One day, it transports her to a fantasy world called the Somnium Realm, where her father’s secret history embroils her in an epic quest. With the help of a dragon guide named Cedric, Lily battles evil shrouds, harpies, and other creatures to find her way through grief, rescue the world from evil, and discover the power of redemption.

Book 1 of The Dreamkeeper Saga series.

Lily McKinley lives in a waking nightmare of school bullies, her father’s recent passing, and her distant mourning mother. Then the dragon came to her house. Lily now confronts the choice to help guard the world of Somnium or return home. Kathryn Butler’s The Dragon and the Stone dreams a world of familiar yet new characters who protect the waking world from dreams that come true. With prosaic writing, the story wisely challenges older children about complex topics, like confrontations with bullies, while exploring grief and hope within a Christian worldview.

Best for: Middle-grade fans of epic fantasy (who may not be ready for The Hobbit or The Wingfeather Saga), readers who prefer overt Christian themes, fans of dragons and fantasy creatures

Discern: One parent dies, though before the story begins; other characters die as part of quest; prejudiced behavior based on races of mythological creature.