It was nice to see a book where the Dragons are not portrayed as bad guys. Most story lines paint them violent monsters who delight in mindless destruction. This is not the case in Dragon's Milk. The Dragons in this story are shown as intelligent beings who have relationships, and care about their children. The real problem is mankind has relentlessly expanded his farms & villages into their territory, destroying their habitat to the point of confrontation. This is where our story comes in...The heroine's sister is dying, and the only way she can save her life, is to barter with a nearby Mother Dragon for her milk. Since the dragon has lost her mate, she agrees... on the condition that Kaeldra is to become guardian of her babies on those nights when the mother must hunt for food.Unfortunately, mankind has hunted the wild animals she needs to extinction, leaving farm animals as the only source of food. Because of this, the mother Dragon is ambushed and killed by Dragon Slayers hired to protect the local farmers. Kaeldra then finds herself the sole protector of three young Dragons with a price on their heads. Dragons who because of their human guardian, don't understand that humans are their enemies.Desperate to protect them, our heroine flees into the night, taking her young wards with her. With only a legend about a far off haven to guide her, Kaeldra strikes out across the mountains with a Dragon Slayer in hot pursuit. As the number of people seeking the bounty on her three adopted youngsters increases, the only question becomes... Can she stay ahead of them long enough to reach safety?My children loved this book so much, I actually read it to them as a bedtime story twice. We were able to finish it in two weeks the first time. Then they begged me to start over again, So we read it for yet another two weeks. I would highly recommend Susan Fletcher's work to any other parent, or even to people who just happen to like Dragons.