KATE KLIMO grew up in the little town of Sea Cliff, with the Stenson Memorial Library just down the street from her house. She got her first wallet when she was eight, not for money but to hold her library card. She can still remember exactly where on the shelves her favorite books of fantasy sat. In Middletown, New York, where she and her husband Harry raised their three sons, the library is housed in a wonderful old railway station-and from there, she and her family have taken many memorable trips.

This excellent series is solidly middle grade, accessible, and adventure-filled. In The Dragon in the Sea, Dragon Keepers Jesse and Daisy, help their dragon, Emmy, as she tries to protect an egg which holds her baby brother. Their adventures take them into the Watery Realms, a world filled with mer-people, selkies, and water zombies. Magic, mayhem, and an unusual cast of charaters make the reading fun, and the wonderful relationship between the dragon keeper cousins and their dragon add both depth and dimension.