Saline Author's 'Handbook for Dragon Slayers' Honored as Best Middle School Title

Saline resident Merrie Haskell was honored recently by the american Library Association for her book, “Handbook for Dragon Slayers,” selected as the best middle school title in the 2014 Schneider Family Book Awards, announced earlier this week by during the ALA’s mid-winter meeting in Philadelphia, according to The Saline Post.

Haskell’s fantasy adventure, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, mixes magic, mythical creatures and thrilling characters.

Alyson Beecher, chair of the awards committee, said the book is a “a high-spirited fantasy in which an endearing heroine’s perception of what her life can be is altered by her adventure.”

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Here’s a synopsis from the book jacket:

“Political upheaval sends Princess Tilda fleeing from her kingdom in the company of two hopeful dragon slayers. The princess never had any interest in chasing dragons. The pain from her crippled foot was too great, and her dream was to write a book. But the princess finds herself making friends with magical horses, facing the Wild Hunt, and pointing a sword at fire-breathing dragons. While doing things she never imagined, Tilda finds qualities in herself she never knew she possessed.

“ ‘Handbook for Dragon Slayers’ is a deeply satisfying coming-of-age tale wrapped in a magical adventure story.”

Haskell, who wrote her first book at age 7, also wrote “The Princess Curse” (2011), a Junior Library Guild selection and a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature,” and “The Castle Behind Thorns.”