Tiger Kingdom & the Book of Destiny

The Dream Chronicles, Volume 1

By: Stacie Eirich

Narrated by: Deva Marie Gregory

Length: 1 hr and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Wishes fly & dreams be bright,
In warmth of sun & chill of night.
Lost within one Kingdom lies a tome,
Of ancient tales & futures unknown.
Hidden there, a golden sword, a secret stone,
May fairies' wings help to guide you home.

Once upon a time, on a cold autumn night, Suzie dreams of tigers rushing past on the streets outside her bedroom. Her twin brother, Jack, tells her it was only a dream, but was it? When a school writing assignment turns magical, Suzie and Jack find themselves in a mysterious, enchanted forest: Tiger Kingdom. There, they meet magical creatures, find a fairy-tale castle, and discover that they aren't the only children in the kingdom.

When Suzie and Jack meet Sampson, the Tiger King, he tells them that Queen Mohini and her cubs have gone missing. The tigers have also lost something else that is precious to them: the Book of Destiny. Without it, the forest is haunted by night spirits that threaten the safety of a once peaceful kingdom. Will Suzie and Jack be able to help find the Book of Destiny and restore peace to the kingdom? Are the tigers hiding dark secrets? Follow Suzie and Jack as they go on an adventure in Tiger Kingdom, a world of magic, mystery, and dreams, to find out.

©2016, 2017, 2018 Stacie Eirich (P)2018 Stacie Eirich

My daughter absolutely loved it

We listened to this wonderful story in the car on a long drive, so got through it all in a single setting. While the story was engaging, the thing that stands out about this book is the performance of the narrator. It's totally worth listening to with your kids, so what are you waiting for?

Classic Fantasy Adventure

Tiger Kingdom is the first book in “The Dream Chronicles” series written by Stacie Eirich and performed by Deva Marie Gregory. The cover gave me a “Magic Treehouse” vibe but while it does include some world traveling, the story is unique. It is also not a series of standalone books; this is a traditional series of books that requires the second book to continue the story. Thank goodness that second book is already out and ready for listening! (It’s titled Bear Kingdom & the Golden Sword). On to the review!

This imaginative novel is set in a myriad of different worlds, the two most imperative to this novel being “our” world and the Tiger Kingdom. We start with an introduction to the main protagonist, 12-year-old Suzie, and her twin brother, Jack, in their bedroom when Suzie wakes up and sees a tiger outside. Then, while drawing a picture of the tiger at school the next day, Suzie is transported to a new world. Her brother joins her on her adventure where they meet some interesting (and some scary!) creatures and find their way to the tiger kingdom.

This book vividly depicted the landscapes of each world, almost like poetry. But, where the descriptions astounded, the underlying plot was unclear for the majority of the novel. This doesn’t necessarily detract because it is such a short story that it doesn’t take long to come across that plot. However, by the time I was really drawn into their adventure, the story was coming to its close. As it is, this was a good first book and I’m intrigued to see how the next one builds off of it! I’d especially like to learn more about the antagonists!

While the setting was well portrayed, it felt like a couple of the characters kept getting lost. Suzie would be focusing on and/or enjoying what she was doing but then Jack would appear and suddenly she was focused on how Jack was finally with her and she could relax, but there was no indication that she was worried in the first place. And, while the story was told from first person through Suzie’s eyes, her voice seemed to get lost in the descriptions. I also noted that several sentences started with present participles (words ending in -ing), which isn’t my favorite writing style, but that is more about a specific preference than a general opinion.

Deva Marie Gregory, the narrator, was magnificent and I have only praise for her. Her tone was great, her singing was beautiful, and she really brought the story to life. It was a pleasure to listen to her performance!

While this story is about 12-year-olds I would say that the writing style and brevity of the book will appeal to both elementary and middle school students. It was easy to read, classic fantasy adventure.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author/narrator/publisher.
Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog.
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