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Sofiya Pasternack
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Anya and the Dragon Paperback – October 13, 2020

by Sofiya Pasternack (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 134 ratings
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A Sydney Taylor Award Honor Book

Sydney Taylor Honor winner Anya and the Dragon, the first in a duology, is a lush tale of magic and dragons, a gem for any adventure-seeking middle grade reader.

Anya and the Dragon is the story of fantasy and mayhem in tenth century Eastern Europe, where headstrong eleven-year-old Anya is a daughter of the only Jewish family in her village.

When her family’s livelihood is threatened by a bigoted magistrate, Anya is lured in by a friendly family of fools, who promise her money in exchange for helping them capture the last dragon in Kievan Rus. This seems easy enough, until she finds out that the scary old dragon isn’t as old—or as scary—as everyone thought. Now Anya is faced with a choice: save the dragon, or save her family.

And don't miss Anya and the Nightingale, the magical conclusion to the Anya and the Dragon duology for middle grade readers!

Previous page
  1. Reading age
    10 - 12 years
  2. Print length
    416 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    5 - 7
  5. Lexile measure
    720L
  6. Dimensions
    5.13 x 1.11 x 7.63 inches
  7. Publisher
    Versify
  8. Publication date
    October 13, 2020
  9. ISBN-10
    0358379059
  10. ISBN-13
    978-0358379058
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"With this clever, fast-paced debut, Pasternack draws upon the myth and folklore of Kievan Rus’ to deliver a delightful tale.…that never loses its sense of fun or wonder.” — Publishers Weekly

"Fresh, funny, sometimes scary, and always magical." — Adam Gidwitz, author of the Newbery Honoree The Inquisitor's Tale

"A delicious read!" — Catherine Murdock, author of the Newbery Honoree The Book of Boy

"Pasternack’s debut is an irresistible blend of moral quandaries, magic, humor, danger, and bravery. Imaginative details bestow a fairy-tale-like quality to the story, which will effortlessly ensnare historical fantasy fans." — Booklist

"[T]ruly likable characters in [an] original setting. This delightful series opener is an exciting blend of Russian and Jewish traditions." — Kirkus Reviews

"A strong heroine and an unusual setting make this worth adding to most crowded fantasy shelves." —School Library Journal "Pasternack eagerly depicts life in an tenth-century Russian village imbued with magic and folklore, riddled with many references to Anya’s family’s religion, their Jewish traditions, and the discrimination they face. The plot keeps readers on their toes with skillful pacing....Jewish readers may find kindred spirits in Anya’s culture, and fans of a Russian setting won’t be disappointed by this immersive novel that ends in justice." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

About the Author

Sofiya Pasternack is a mental health professional, the highly-distractible author of Jewish fantasy, and prone to oversharing gross medical stories. If you're not careful, she'll holler at you about how to use psychotherapy to improve character development.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Versify; Reprint edition (October 13, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0358379059
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0358379058
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10 - 12 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 720L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 5 - 7
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.13 x 1.11 x 7.63 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 134 ratings

About the author

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Sofiya Pasternack

Sofiya Pasternack

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Sofiya Pasternack is a mental health professional, the highly-distractible author of Jewish MG and YA fantasy, and prone to oversharing gross medical stories. She enjoys speaking to crowds about writing and mental health. She does not enjoy running but she does it anyway. She is actually a gremlin in a bad wig.

Her debut novel ANYA AND THE DRAGON won the Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor for Middle Grade, and her follow-up ANYA AND THE NIGHTINGALE won the STBA Honor for Middle Grade, was a National Jewish Book Award finalist, and was selected as a BookRiot Best Children's Book of 2020!

Sofiya does stuff all over the internet!

Twitter: @sofipasternack

Insta: @sofipasternack

YouTube: youtube.com/c/sofiyapasternack

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
134 global ratings
Absolutely AMAZING!!!!
5 Stars
Absolutely AMAZING!!!!
I loved this SO much! Incredible story. Anya is a daughter of the only Jewish family in her village. When her family’s livelihood is threatened by a bigoted magistrate, Anya is lured in by a friendly family of fools, who promise her money in exchange for helping them capture the last dragon in Kievan Rus. This seems easy enough, until she finds out that the scary old dragon isn’t as old—or as scary—as everyone thought. Now Anya is faced with a choice: save the dragon, or save her family. The author weaves a fantasy adventure, Slavic folklore, Jewish faith/life with phenomenal characters, danger, suspense, & important issues like antisemitism. Håkon has my heart. That is the sweetest dragon I’ve ever read lol My heart was so full of love for him. I have a soft spot for Zvezda too lol what a goat. Ivan is such a sweetheart, & I LOVED watching the friendship develop between he & Anya. He is her 1st(human)friend, & it was such a special & beautiful thing to read as she finds her 1st real friend in life. She always tried to go unnoticed since her family is the only Jewish family, & how some people feel about that. Great messages/lessons/themes on antisemitism, oppression, friendship, hate, greed/power hungry, determination, family, & faith. I loved Anya’s family so much. There were some words used that I didn’t understand-the words used for her family members were easy to figure out. The rest I just looked up if it didn’t say what they were. Didn’t bother me or affect the story for me though, I knew what was going on regardless. The 2nd book does have a glossary in the back though I believe. Highly recommend this. I flew through it. Amazing characters, writing, gripping story, danger & suspense, & fantasy mixed with important topics….superb. Reading the 2nd book now! BEAUTIFUL cover by Jeff Langevin as well!💜
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Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Hooray for Dragons!
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
Do you have a middle-grader who loves dragons? This one will keep that child’s nose in the book to find out more.
I loved Anya and how she is negotiating her life with goats, her father’s absence, a new friend, and the town magistrate who is pushing her family to abandone their home. This book has adventure, a great setting, and fun characters. I recommend it!
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Aimee
5.0 out of 5 stars Jewish dragons!
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book is so much fun! I love the friendship between Anya and Ivan and the first time the dragon spoke I honestly teared up a little. This is such a gorgeous story of friendship and bravery and harnessing your power, and I loved every minute of it!
4 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice children’s book
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2019
Verified Purchase
I mostly bought this because my daughter’s name is Anya, but it’s an interesting children’s book. A good read.
2 people found this helpful
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Sean Igo
5.0 out of 5 stars thoughtful, healthy adventure for kids
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2019
Verified Purchase
Solid, good-hearted adventure tale, tightly plotted and quick paced. Anya is an excellent lead, strong and kind, pushing on despite her fears and constantly striving to do what's right in the face of uncertainty. The stakes are dramatic and believable. Enthusiastically recommended.
3 people found this helpful
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Kath Rothschild
5.0 out of 5 stars I recommend this book!
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2020
Verified Purchase
I read "Anya and the Dragon" by Sofia Pasternack, the main characters are Anya and Ivan. Two things readers will like about this book is the magic strings and how all of Ivans brothers are also named Ivan. This book will appeal to fans of "Wings of Fire" and "Furthermore".
4 people found this helpful
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Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
I read this for my young adult book club. I loved it and so did my kids!!! A really unique story!
One person found this helpful
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sandi
5.0 out of 5 stars Good reading
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
Good gift for my granddaughter
One person found this helpful
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Jennifer C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2022
11-year-old Anya lives a simple life in her tiny village, and she thinks all is well until the local magistrate threatens her family's land unless her family can pay 250 rubles in one month. When Anya meets a family of Fools who is looking for a dangerous dragon, she offers to help in exchange for payment. But when Anya meets the dragon and discovers that the danger may be greatly exaggerated, Anya has to decide whether to save her family or the dragon.

I loved this story. In some ways, it reminded me of Fiddler on the Roof, only with magic and dragons. Both are set in Russia, and the families in both suffer discrimination based solely on their status as Jews. Unlike in Fiddler, though, Anya is not in search of a husband - though we do meet several young boys who would be more than happy to marry her, some declaring it before even properly meeting Anya. Anya declines. No, Anya is a strong and brave young girl who is a wonderful protagonist for the story. She studies the Torah in preparation for her upcoming bat mitvah and struggles with understanding various passages of the Torah. In particular, she keeps coming back to the commandment of "You shall not kill" and wondering if it's ever okay to do so.

Helping her in these discussions is her grandmother, her babushka. Babulya is quite the character, and I think I would love to meet her in real life. Well, maybe not. Her magic and her ability to know things are kind of scary. Lol.

I also loved the way magic was used in this book. It was a somewhat unique concept that I've only seen in a couple of other books I've read. I definitely liked the way the magic was combined with all of the different magical creatures that were also pulled from Russian folktales.

I think this book is a fabulous story and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more stories with Anya and Ivan. I also think this book could be a great introduction for discussions of history and discrimination with young readers. The former teacher in me can't help but see the possibilities of cooperative lessons between History or Social Studies teachers and English teachers, especially with the mythologies involved.

So, if you like strong female characters, magic, dragons, swords, mythical creatures, and mischievous house spirits who don't mind letting you know when they're upset, then you should definitely read this book.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Banamazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
I bought this for my daughter because it featured a female protagonist and the book did not disappoint. Anya is strong, resourceful and sticks to her principles. Some of the creature and character names as well as some of the themes are a bit much for a 6 year old so I’m saving it for when she is 8. I’ve already bought the second book in the series though.
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