Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher

Schoolboy artist and son of a veterinarian, "Jeremy finds himself at a mysterious magic shop where he acquires an extraordinary, multicolored sphere--a dragon's egg that he has been chosen to hatch. ... a reviled girl in his class (another reader) turns out to be a kindred spirit and the only other person who can see the dragon. A funny, enjoyable, imaginative story whose serious undercurrents lend it unexpected depth." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review (contemporary, undated online)