Free from the author via KDP Select @
Amazon:
The Wrong-Colored Dragon by Lynne Reid Banks (
ISFDB,
Wikipedia), a children's fantasy novel by the author of the kidlit classic
The Indian in the Cupboard, which I vaguely remember reading as a child.
Ferocity P. Bychahedoff is born to normal dragon parents, but he is red - not a dragon colour, which sets him apart. Dragonkind have defeated their age-old enemies, the Uprights, following a planetary catastrophe, sending them into exile on scattered islands while dragons take over the mainland.
The world is now a more peaceful place. But there are difficulties. Without the advantage of hands, dragons find they cannot build, or mine the coal they need for their chestfire-boxes. So Ferocity's 'dag' is sent on a mission to find some Uprights and perhaps make common cause with them.
Ferocity meets and befriends a young female Upright and together they all travel to the Uprights' island exile, where a hostile welcome awaits the dragons...