Once again Jake and Ava must journey into the past. When their cousin finds a cursed coin, this hurls the two siblings through time to an ancient city. There they must work with dragons to fix whatever history has been changed and then return home. Secret of the Lost Dragons is book 2 in Phyllis Wheeler’s Guardians of Time series, yet can be read alone. Simple prose helps early readers time-travel into longer books and sketches virtuous character growth across the chapters.

Best for: Early middle-grade readers who enjoy time-travel stories.

Discern: Childish immaturity and sibling spats.