In this friendly little fantasy, three different seekers pursue a lost dragon. And this isn’t just any dragon--her name is Wycca, and she’s a wyvern, the most catlike of the species. Wycca belongs to Gideon, a busy twelfth-century wizard. When he finds that she has wandered through a bolt-hole into the future, he sighs, packs up his magic implements and his familiars--Ignus the flame and the two-headed snake he calls Ouroboros--and steps into the mysterious opening to emerge in twenty-first century Boston. There he meets Iain Merlin O’Shea, the Wizard of Harvard Square, who takes him home and explains the magic of technology while they search for the lost wyvern. Other seekers are also abroad: Kobold, Gideon’s half-brother and arch enemy, wants to capture Wycca to turn her against her master; he has brought along an assistant demon, Febrys, who in her uncomfortable disguise as a human woman finds that cloven hooves are not compatible with high heels. Caught between these two magical forces is twelve-year-old Theodora, or Dodo, who yearns for the black wyvern card to complete her set and gain her admittance to the Wyvernkeeper’s Circle that meets in the local bookstore. To complicate matters, Wycca is with egg, and when she has nested and hatched her chick, there are two wyverns on the loose in Boston in this fast-moving tale that will entertain younger fantasy readers. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-Wycca, a small dragon called a wyvern, is looking for the perfect place to lay her egg when she stumbles into a bolt-hole that transports her from 13th-century England to 21st-century Boston. Although she is quite unbothered by this change in locale and proceeds to lay her egg, her wizard Gideon needs to find her fast, before the evil wizard Kobold and his demon can locate her and use her against him. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Theodora, an avid fan of a game called Wizards & Wyverns, finds a magical card and unwittingly summons Wycca's hatchling, which draws all the other magical folk to her, as well. The delight of this fantasy lies in the interactions of the well-drawn characters and in the fluid, skillful writing. The attempts of Gideon and his 21st-century wizard ally, the pompous but good-hearted Professor Merlin of Harvard University, to work traditional magic using modern materials are entertaining, as is Wycca's preoccupation with obtaining chocolate, her newfound addiction. Theodora's part in the plot is a bit forced, as are some of the circumstances and characters surrounding her, and there are a great many coincidences, including a plethora of modern-day wizards who are always right where they need to be. Those quibbles aside, this is a charming fantasy that will appeal to fans of Diana Wynne Jones. An extra bonus is Rayyan's artwork that heads each chapter, depicting the wyvern egg and the hatchling that emerges from it.Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public LibraryCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. When Wycca, a wyvern mother-to-be, enters a magical bolt-hole in another place and time in search of a hidden nesting place, her master, Gideon, a thirteenth-century wizard, follows and finds himself in a confusing twenty-first-century Boston. His archrival, Kobold, follows, too, hoping to locate the wyvern, who can be used as a powerful weapon against Gideon if she falls into enemy hands. At the same time, 11-year-old Bostonian Theodora Oglethorpe is facing a boring summer with the housekeeper, Mikko, while her widower father is on an expedition and her two best friends are away. Theodora, who has long aspired to join Wyvernkeeper's Circle, finds the wyvern hatchling and becomes embroiled in the battle between Gideon and Kobold for possession of Wycca. With likable characters, and laced with plenty of humor and adventure, Downer's fantasy will have solid appeal for young genre fans. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

ANNOTATION

When a thirteenth-century wizard confronts twenty-first century Boston while seeking his pet dragon, he is followed by a rival wizard and a very unhappy demon, but eleven-year-old Theodora Oglethorpe may hold the secret to setting everything right.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Poor Theodora Oglethorpe! Her biologist father has gone off to explore the jungles of Laos without her, her best friends are away on vacation, and a long, hot, lonely Boston summer is all she has to look forward to.

Poor Gideon! Wycca, his pet wyvern, has disappeared through a magic hole in time in search of a place to lay her egg. Kobold, Gideon's wizard rival, wants nothing more than to get his hands on Wycca. In a desperate attempt to rescue Wycca from Kobold's evil clutches, Gideon follows her through the magic hole ... and finds himself transported from thirteenth-century England to the terrifyingly modern world of Boston, Massachusetts, in the twenty-first century.

Soon Theodora's involved with a chocoholic baby wyvern, a mysterious wyvern playing card, a couple of desperate wizards -- and the summer vacation of her life!

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A wayward dragon finds her way into the 21st century and her wizard owner follows her through time, enlisting the help of a girl and a modern wizard. PW said that the author "fashions a witty fantasy from several plot lines that come together into a satisfying denouement." Ages 8-12. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Joy A. Girgis

The story opens with Wycca, a small cat-like dragon called a wyvern, searching for a place to nest and lay her egg. She discovers a small magical hole and climbs into it. Transported to a different time and place, Wycca's owner, a 13th-century wizard named Gideon, becomes worried and goes looking for her. He finds the hole and leaves to pack. The hole transports Gideon from his own time in England to 21st-century Boston. Gideon hurries to locate Wycca, because if he does not, his archenemy, Kobold, and Kobold's demon, Febrys, will find Wycca and use her against him. A third character, Theodora, an 11-year-old girl from the 21st-century who thrives on a game called Wizards & Wyverns, finds a black wyvern card to finish her collection so that she will be able to join the club. Wycca's egg soon hatches. All the while, Gideon and a 21st-century wizard, Merlin, who also works as a professor at Harvard University, use a more modern style of magic to find the wyverns. This book's language and compelling plot engage the reader. Its use of magic and technology cause the reader to become absorbed in the story of Wycca's incredible journey. I enjoyed every aspect of this book because of the interesting combination of mythological creatures and present-day life. 2003, Antheneum Books For Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, Ages 10 to 14.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-Wycca, a small dragon called a wyvern, is looking for the perfect place to lay her egg when she stumbles into a bolt-hole that transports her from 13th-century England to 21st-century Boston. Although she is quite unbothered by this change in locale and proceeds to lay her egg, her wizard Gideon needs to find her fast, before the evil wizard Kobold and his demon can locate her and use her against him. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Theodora, an avid fan of a game called Wizards & Wyverns, finds a magical card and unwittingly summons Wycca's hatchling, which draws all the other magical folk to her, as well. The delight of this fantasy lies in the interactions of the well-drawn characters and in the fluid, skillful writing. The attempts of Gideon and his 21st-century wizard ally, the pompous but good-hearted Professor Merlin of Harvard University, to work traditional magic using modern materials are entertaining, as is Wycca's preoccupation with obtaining chocolate, her newfound addiction. Theodora's part in the plot is a bit forced, as are some of the circumstances and characters surrounding her, and there are a great many coincidences, including a plethora of modern-day wizards who are always right where they need to be. Those quibbles aside, this is a charming fantasy that will appeal to fans of Diana Wynne Jones. An extra bonus is Rayyan's artwork that heads each chapter, depicting the wyvern egg and the hatchling that emerges from it.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews