This is a the stoy of a little boy who goes off on his dragon to rescue another dragon. The ending is both happy and moral but not in a tiresome way! The writing is readable by a 6 or 7 year old so it could be an independent reading book.
However, the pictures are what makes this book in my opinion. The illustrations are comic (I love the chickens at the begining) but also very evocative. You really can imagine a world where dragons flying though the air is the usual thing to see.
My 5 year old daughter loves this and we have bought the other books in the series too.