If you are looking for the perfect last-minute Christmas, birthday gift – or anytime gift — look no further than Colton’s Pocket Dragon that will make bedtime reading soar for the young child in your life. Once you begin this journey, it will be a long and happy ride.
Children’s author Rebecca Massey uses her vivid imagination, and inspiration from her grandson, to craft these books. These charming and memorable books tell the story of 10-year-Colton who finds an egg that he keeps safe and warm, until one day it hatches, revealing a baby dragon, who happens to be small enough to fit in his pocket.
Together, the two, and other magical creatures they meet along the way get into plenty of mischief that makes each installment of the 10-book series a page-turner.
Join Colton and his pocket dragon as they go flying off on magical adventures together. The two friends will find and save Iggy the Bigfoot, Skylar the dinosaur, Tansy the abominable snowman, and Bernie the orangutan and explore a haunted house and encounter the master dragon and others.
This formidable team finds tree monsters, snow monsters, gargoyles, wolves, snakegons, ghosts, and a gigantic mole. I urge you to come tag along with Colton and his pocket dragon on their adventures.
It is easy to see why children and adults want to come and fly with Colton and his pocket dragon!
Please tell me where these books came from?
Rebecca Massey: I’ve kept the real Colton a secret all these years, but now I can reveal that my grandson was the inspiration for me to do these books that are so beloved to me. He is getting ready to go to college to figure out his life’s journey. He has also been working in the construction business.
How does the real Colton feel about having books that he inspired?
He is excited and proud.
Have you had a chance to meet some of your young fans?
Until recently, I really didn’t get to meet too much of the public. I am not really a public person, so to get out there and do book signings and appearances would be new for me. My publisher, however, is encouraging me saying, ‘you wrote these books, so they have to get to know you.’ I recently did my first TV appearance in Arizona and I was scared to death, but I think I did well, and everyone was happy with it. So I think more appearances are coming down the line.
What does it mean to know that you have touched the lives of your young readers, their parents, and grandparents?
I get a few emails here and there. There have been a few kids in my neighborhood whose grandparents brought them over because they wanted to meet me. We are really just starting to promote the books. I get some emails here and there, and I am crossing my fingers that people will find my books and love reading them as much as I loved writing them.
What life lessons do you feel the books impart to your young readers?
Each book has a new little dragon that Colton raises. I’ve tried to make each dragon his own character. One dragon likes to eat all the time and is feisty. The lesson is that you have to share. I’ve tried to keep lessons in all my books – such as that it’s important how you treat people. You have to be nice and you have to play nice. So the idea is that you are learning a little something while you are reading, and hopefully this will stick in your mind. There is a lesson about sharing, so when the pink and blue dragon have an issue Colton has to intervene and make them say they are sorry,
How long have you been writing?
I have been writing for four years. I just turned in book 11, and I am editing the next few. I had a bit of trouble with book 10, so I was working on it for a year. It was a tough one, but it’s finally come together.
I found the books to be charming and heartfelt. What do you love about your books?
I love and appreciate that Colton is a real inquisitive young boy. He loves to do everything and wants to reach his dragons, and also gets into a little trouble along the way. So, even though he’s a 10-year-old boy, he likes to take initiative on his own.
This hits close to home.
Yes. My real life grandson was the same way. I fashioned this character after my grandson – from a young age he was headstrong and didn’t want any help. He was a child who knew it all. I also appreciate that the little dragons think that Colton is their daddy, and I think that’s cute. The little dragons are his secret and he has a tough time hiding them from the neighbor girl. He has quite a time keeping them secret and hidden; they ride along in his pocket.
When did you first find you had a penchant for storytelling?
I started starting telling these stories when my grandson was little, but I didn’t start to write them down until a few years ago. My husband and I had a business and I kept telling myself that I couldn’t do this. I pulled together Dragonland, the first one and gave it to my husband. He loved it and I continued the series.
All of this took a big leap of faith.
Oh, yes. I was scared to death, so I didn’t approve the first one for a while. But I finally approved it and let it go. Over the years I have learned a lot about what to do and not to do and worked my little fingers off. I got my local Barnes & Noble to put the books in, and that journey to get the word out is what I am working on now.
One of your books is about death and had a genuine impact on your readers. Please tell me about this.
True, my 6th book Heaven. I was totally shocked to discover that this book helped a family’s daughter deal with a death in the family, which is so heartening. So, I know that different books in my series will help children as the Heaven book did.
The Heaven book was very personal to you.
Yes, a million tears went into that book. My dad passed away in 2014, so I sat there for quite a while grappling with the story, but when I started writing the story it started pouring out. It was everything about my dad — what he liked and everything that he was about. Colton has some big emotions in the Heaven book by dealing with losing his great grandpa and him going over the rainbow bridge. I think I did really well with Heaven and I am proud that it helped a lot of kids when they read it. They find out that heaven is a beautiful and wonderful place to live.
These books are a real family affair. What was your husband’s reaction to your books?
[Rebecca Massey]
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If you are looking for additional last-minute gifts for youngsters on your holiday list here are recent releases from Brown Books Kids:
Ted the Friendly Frog and the Tale of the Diamond by Scott McCall. Ted the Friendly Frog lives by a pond and spends his froggy days playing with his friends, hopping in the grass, and swimming very fast. One day, Ted’s grandfather tells Ted something important – he’s going away for a few days, and could Ted look after his special diamond? In this bouncing and rhyming tale, Ted learns the important lesson of listening to his family, even if it is more fun to play, and it is never too late to learn from a mistake. www.ScottMcCallBooks.com
Jeannie’s Crab Lake Christmas by David Mulford. For the last 27 years, David’s Christmas gift to his wife, Jeannie, no matter where they’ve been in the world, has been a new story with their home-away-from-home, Crab Lake, Wisconsin, as the setting. The love from this almost 30-year tradition is poured into every page and it transports readers back to the tales we loved as children. With its touching illustrations and themes of tradition and holiday spirit, this book is sure to become a classic. http://www.davidmulfordbooks.com/
The Festive Frolics of Panda and Owl by Frank Lewis. What started as a romantic gesture between the author (Owl) and his wife of one year, Jody (Panda) transformed into a wonderfully whimsical tale of two best friends who learn, laugh, and celebrate life hand-in-hand. The two are inseparable in fiction and in real life, and you’ll want to become their “bestest” friend, too. The Festive Frolics of Panda and Owl has a claim to fame…it was the only children’s book featured in the 2018 Golden Globes Red Carpet Style Lounge. http://franklewisbooks.com/
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