The Dragonfly Pool

The Dragonfly Pool  
Author(s) Eva Ibbotson
Illustrator Kevin Hawkes
Publisher Dutton Juvenile
Publication date September 4, 2008
Pages 416
ISBN 0525420649

The Dragonfly Pool is a children's novel by award-winning author Eva Ibbotson. It is illustrated by Kevin Hawkes.

Plot

Tally Hamilton is the daughter of the town's beloved dentist. Tally loves her life; she is popular and gets along with everyone. So Tally is very upset when she is sent to a boarding school in England because of the war, but does so for the sake of her father. When Tally arrives at Delderton Hall she soon discovers that this school is certainly like no other: the dancing teacher encourages them to be seeds busting into light, and the enigmatic teacher biology Matteo takes them for study walks at four in the morning. Tally soon settles in and makes plenty of friends, she even organizes a trip for the Deldertonians to attend a dancing festival in Bergania.

Meanwhile, Prince Karil of Bergania is a lonely boy who wants to be normal and have friends. He hates wearing stuffy suits and attending so many formal celebrations. One day Karil meets Tally at the Dragonfly Pool, his place of comfort and peace, and the two immediately become friends. But when Karil's father the King is assassinated, Karil is forced to flee with Tally and the Deldertonians to England. The Germans overtake Bergania as part of their plan, as they had arranged the King's assassination.

Characters