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THE BOY WHO GREW DRAGONS

Name: THE BOY WHO GREW DRAGONS
Author: Andy Shepherd
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1011-0

by Andy Shepherd ; illustrated by Andy Shepherd ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2020

Never has so much toilet humor been so charming

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Tomas discovers a strange cactus at the back of his grandad’s messy garden with the most amazing fruit: tiny dragons.

When Grandad gets the urge to tidy up the weedy mess in his back garden, Tomas happily gives himself blisters helping out. He’s reluctant to chop down the fascinating cactus hidden behind the weeds, though. It “looks like a giant upturned mophead” and is covered with the strangest fruit, glowing and spiky. Tomas’ online searches tell him the strange fruit is pitaya, a dragon fruit—but unlike a real pitaya, Tomas’ explodes in the middle of the night, hatching into a tiny dragon. The dragon is lovely, a gorgeous, flying, magical creature. It is also, like many babies, a creature that mainly eats and poops. There’s flammable, exploding poo everywhere: in his dad’s porridge, on his mother’s best towel, and in Tomas’ gym bag—and even illustrated in smoldering glory. As Tomas seeks to keep his dragon hidden while seeking any others that might have hatched, the lively illustrations keep pace with the slapstick action. Blond, white Tomas and his lovely pet are not the stars of the irreverent pictures, though; that honor goes to the action: a terrifying leaping cat, a grumpy neighbor toppling into a wheelbarrow of flaming cabbages, and more.

Never has so much toilet humor been so charming . (Fantasy. 8-11)

Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-4998-1011-0

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Little Bee Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S DRAGONS & MYTHICAL CREATURES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BOY WHO LIVED WITH DRAGONS
by Andy Shepherd ; illustrated by Sara Ogilvie

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WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE

From the Ryan Hart series , Vol. 1

by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Niña Mata ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2020

Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!

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Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.

Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.

Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: April 28, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
ALL THE BLUES IN THE SKY
by Renée Watson

- BOOK REVIEW
CICELY TYSON
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Sherry Shine

- BOOK REVIEW
SUMMER IS HERE
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bea Jackson

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THE PORCUPINE YEAR

From the Birchbark House series , Vol. 3

by Louise Erdrich ; illustrated by Louise Erdrich ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2008

The journey is even gently funny—Omakayas’s brother spends much of the year with a porcupine on his head. Charming and...

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This third entry in the Birchbark House series takes Omakayas and her family west from their home on the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker, away from land the U.S. government has claimed.

Difficulties abound; the unknown landscape is fraught with danger, and they are nearing hostile Bwaanag territory. Omakayas’s family is not only close, but growing: The travelers adopt two young chimookoman (white) orphans along the way. When treachery leaves them starving and alone in a northern Minnesota winter, it will take all of their abilities and love to survive. The heartwarming account of Omakayas’s year of travel explores her changing family relationships and culminates in her first moon, the onset of puberty. It would be understandable if this darkest-yet entry in Erdrich’s response to the Little House books were touched by bitterness, yet this gladdening story details Omakayas’s coming-of-age with appealing optimism.

The journey is even gently funny—Omakayas’s brother spends much of the year with a porcupine on his head. Charming and enlightening. (Historical fiction. 9-11)