A joyful if simplistic celebration of Chinese New Year culture.
A kid tries to catch a good-luck dragon hiding around town as the family prepares for Chinese New Year following the formula established in How To Catch an Elf (2016) and other series installments.
After hearing Mom wish for a dragon to bring health and fortune for the new year, a boy (presumably Chinese) and several friends (of varying racial presentations) discover a dragon lurking about town. Among the Chinese-style architecture of the town buildings, they employ various fantastical lures related to Chinese culture to catch it, including a web of noodles and sticky rice, a giant red lantern, gold coins, and a dragon dance. The simple and often awkward rhyming quatrains leave no room for deeper insights into Chinese culture, but each stanza does include one or two highlighted words whose Chinese translation can then be found within the illustration. The entire text is translated into Simplified Chinese with Pinyin in the backmatter for cross-referencing. Elkerton’s digitally painted, colorful cartoon illustrations depict a diverse cast of modern-looking children against a backdrop of a traditional Chinese village. Ultimately, despite the protagonist’s failure to catch the dragon, it is being within the embrace of a loving family (depicted as a mother and a grandmother) that is the luckiest of all.
A joyful if simplistic celebration of Chinese New Year culture. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-9369-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A charming continuation of a much-beloved series—and a clever tribute to the power of storytelling.
Scheherazade hasn’t got a thing on this sneaky mouse’s tale-telling talents.
The Gruffalo—the furry, yellow-eyed creature readers may remember from Donaldson and Scheffler’s classic work of the same name—and his daughter receive notice that Gruffalo Granny will soon be coming for a visit. This calls for a special meal, but what to serve? Ultimately, the Gruffalos decide to snatch up that same mouse who dodged their hungry tummies in previous books in the series. When the mouse is informed that they intend to pop him in a stew, he acquiesces but asks if he can tell a story first. As in The Thousand and One Nights, the mouse leaves his tale unfinished each evening; the Gruffalos let him live so they can hear what happens. By night, the mouse gnaws on the bars of his cage. Eventually, there’s a happy ending, not just for the mouse but for the Gruffalos as well (Granny has different tastes than expected). Donaldson’s gently rhyming text will have readers as rapt as the Gruffalo and his child. Featuring saturated colors and characters who are utterly sweet for all their fangs and claws, Scheffler’s artwork hasn’t changed a jot since the mouse and Gruffalo first met. References to the creators’ previous works provide delightful easter eggs for fans.
A charming continuation of a much-beloved series—and a clever tribute to the power of storytelling. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9798217238736
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2026
A wandering effort, happy but pointless.
The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.
Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.
A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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