Dragons of Spratt, Ohio

I picked this up because of the dragons on the cover. Flying dragons that have no legs and feet. Not as common. Usually, there's feet, mostly four, occasionally two. I prefer the 4 foot version. There are rhinos, and giraffes and cows. Oh, my? Turns out to be a wildlife preserve on reclaimed coal land. It's based on a real place. I don't think the dragons are real. I probably woulda heard 'bout that. Too bad. I would like to see some dragons. I would have prefered the dragons with legs and feet, but I ain't picky. This was a fun book. An old female dragon settles in the Spratt area, eats some zebra, lays some eggs and dies. Then the book starts. Salt is a kid who lives on a large animal preserve. His dad is the main vet, and his mom is upper management. Their work takes them away from home. Salt's best friend is Ham and Candi is Ham's twin sister. Salt's evil aunt shows up as the parents are called away. She's big in cosmetics and Candi is fascinated by her. The aunt reveals her evil plans more and more as the book progresses. She kills one of the dragons to make an anti aging creme and that leads the kids to secret away the rest of the dragons. More antics follow. You'd almost think they could have marketed it under some sort of horror series. It's might be a bit gruesome for the really young but it's all spelled out for the older thinking kids in good understandable prose. Linda Zinnen is a good writer,she has two previous books. Here's an interview and review of her previous books. Her story flows and pulls you along nicely and she gives the evil auntie a suitable punishment. There are lots of baked goods and animals. Even a stinky buzzard. The kids are likeable and like enough to real kids. I'm glad I bought a copy.