Danny Dragonbreath is your typical youngster.  He puts up with his father’s good-natured lectures.  He goofs off instead of doing school work, waiting until the last minute to eek out something off the top of his head.  He dreams of being a pirate.  And he’s not very good at breathing fire.  Unfortunately, since Danny is an actual dragon, that last one poses a bit of a problem.  He practices every day, but he can’t seem to figure out the internal mechanics to make it work, no matter how much he thinks “hot” like his father says.

Danny and his best friend Wendell, an iguana, take a trip to the sea shore to visit Danny’s cousin Edward, a sea serpent.  Danny needs to write a report on the ocean to make up for the abysmal, last minute fiction he tuned in on ocean-dwelling bats.  Instead of going to the library, like Wendell urges, Danny wants to experience the ocean first hand, and enlists his kindly cousin for the project.

Danny and Wendell get to see a coral reef up close, they get chased by a shark, find a sunken ship, and nearly get eaten by a giant squid.  All in all, it was a grand adventure.  Danny laughs off each near death experience, and seems to actual learn a thing or too, despite his best efforts to just have fun.  Wendell is rather terrified most of the time, but discovers that he actually knows more about the ocean than he had realized, and even finds just how tough he can actually be and manages to stand up to the school bully the next day.

This is a charming story of learning how to make learning fun.  It is about facing one’s fears, and seeing that you are stronger than you could have ever imagined.  Danny Dragonbreath is a wonderful character, and the mix of comic-like illustrations every 3 or 4 pages makes the story a joy to read.

Ursuala Vernon creates the perfect little Wicked Witch for "Castle Hangnail"

The beautiful writing style of Ursula Vernon paints a backdrop for this little the likes of which is not often seen in juvenile fiction, or adult fiction for that matter.  The ensemble of characters each have their own, well-rounded personalities, and distinct voices.  Though most of the story is told through the eyes of Majordomo, the hunchbacked guardian of the castle, the rest of the cast feels just as important and central to the story.


There was some concern, near the beginning of the story, that Molly Utterback didn't fit with the rest of the cast.  She felt too insignificant in comparison.  While the other characters had obvious motives, desires, and traits, Molly was intentionally hiding who she was, which kept her in the shadows of the others.  The parallel between how Molly fit into the story and how the writing of Molly fit with the writing of the other characters leads me to believe that this was actually intentional on the part of Ursula Vernon.  As Molly begins to open up to the other characters, the writing of her becomes more stable and feels less disconnected from the rest of the story, just as Molly is finding her place in Castle Hangnail.


Molly is a 12-year-old girl with some innate magical talent and a belief that she's destined to be a wicked witch, rather than a good one, because she has an identical twin sister who is incredibly bubbly, friendly, and loves the color pink.  Molly learns some spells from a teenage evil sorceress in her home town, and steals the sorceress's invitation to come live at Castle Hangnail as its new Master.  When Molly arrives, Majordomo is unconvinced that she belongs there.  He is worried that she's not wicked enough, or perhaps not witch enough, to be the new master of an evil castle.  But the rest of the minions take to her with ease, and she quickly picks up new spells that endear her to the local village as well as the local wildlife.  Her natural talent with herbs and a quick friendship with a plant loving neighbor, have the castle gardens looking well in no time.  But, when the evil sorceress comes to take possession of the castle, Molly must decide just how wicked she is ready to be.


The choices Molly must make, and the revelations that she goes through, regarding how others see her and have used her, may be fantastical, but they are relatable to any young person who is trying to figure out their place in the world.  We all have natural talents and compulsions, and some of them aren't much approved of by our parents, or taught in our public schools.  Molly makes the decision to go somewhere she believes she belongs.  She tries to be what she thinks they'll expect of her, but learns that being herself, and trying to do the right thing are the only ways to find out where you fit in this world.  Molly finds her true home and learns that there are fewer limits to her abilities that she could have ever dreamed.