Month: October 2025

Hero of Draconis – your new must-read fantasy

One of my favorite things about books that take place in a different world is a map. I have a weakness for a good map for a few reasons. First, I like to visually see the world I am diving into. Seeing the magnitude on a map at the start of the book shows me we are in for a big adventure across this new land. I refer back to book maps often. Second, it shows the author has “mapped” everything out, so we won’t travel west to a location previously described as being due east.

My mom heard about a talented new author and gave me a copy of her book, “Hero of Draconis” by Evelyn Klotz. If you haven’t heard of Evelyn Klotz yet, check her book out…. this is an amazingly talented young writer (and by young, she was 12 when this book was published!). Klotz had my attention from the start as the book opened with a map. I couldn’t wait to see the story that unfolded across this new world.

In “Hero of Draconis” we follow the adventures of three children and two animals on a true fantasy adventure complete with dragons, magic, and a missing royal baby. This book has it all. I want to tell you more, but I want you to read it and uncover the story as you dive into the pages.

Klotz’s writing is incredible for a writer of any age. To realize this young writer was so young working on this book is even more impressive. While reading, I was sending photos of text to my closest bookish friends with messages like “can you believe how well written this is????”

If your child loves a good adventure through a fantasy world, this book is just the book you are looking for. Pick up a copy and let your child know this book was written by a young author. What better way to show your child the stories they imagine inside their heads could be a book than to give them a book written by someone their age. Evelyn Klotz will be an inspiration to many aspiring writers, and her book is a non-stop, can’t put it down tale for fantasy readers of all ages.

“What Do You Do With An Idea?”

Sometimes it feels like I “must” read a book. It keeps coming into my life in different ways, begging to be read. “What Do You Do With an Idea?” by Kobi Yamada is one of those books. My friend recommended this book, but not just the usual “it’s good, you should read it.” She recommended it as “one of those books that you have to read, it will change your life.” I knew I needed to read it. Then my mom showed up at my house carrying a copy of it, saying someone she knew recommended it to her. Okay, I got the hint….I had to read this book.

If you read just one book that I recommend here, On The Children’s Shelf, please choose this one. The recommendations I received didn’t do it justice. It is one of the best books I have ever read. While written for children, this book should be read by readers of all ages, and read to those not yet able to read it themselves. 

Yamada takes something that exists in your imagination, an idea, and makes it tangible. The reader joins the main character on this journey from that initial idea, as it grows bigger and stronger, fights the doubt of others, until it comes to fruition. The idea becomes too large for just one person and it fulfills its destiny. 

While the story alone is brilliant, Mae Besom’s illustrations are genius. This is by far one of the prettiest books. I loved every page of this book.

This book now holds a special place in my heart and will be a resource I return to often when I doubt my own abilities, doubt my own dreams and ideas and need a reminder of what to do with an idea.

* This was originally written in 2015 but I needed this reminder, so I’m sharing it with all of you.