My niece and I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I got her a copy in early December, and we read it at least a dozen times. Then we wrapped it up to be given as a gift to another child for Christmas. (Fun tradition.) We both recommend it to other children who enjoy funny stories, especially with dragons and fantasy explanations for ordinary things. It's also good for any children who are afraid of the basement furnace or radiator sounds.

I've actually been following this author for years on Twitter. For whatever reason, I didn't realize until just now that he wrote children's books. (Maybe because I wasn't shopping for them before.) I will likely get more of these books later.

The book is an entertaining, Happily-Ever-After story. The child in the book does intentionally separate from his parents. (I'm not sure if the word "runaway" works for nomadic cultures.) I believe the theme, or lesson, is that there is often a simpler way to solve a problem. It might also be just that the basement furnace isn't scary.