A page-turner of an adventure story about challenging preconceived notions and building empathy and compassion.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, Freya and Sylas lived in a village in a magic kingdom where everyone feared a dragon.
Although it isn’t clear if any villagers have actually met the dragon, rumor has it that the beast is heartless, ruthless, and cruel. Unlike their fellow villagers, Freya and Sylas find the dragon fascinating as well as terrifying. The children spend hours together reading stories about the dragon, becoming dragon experts, each reassuring the other that they are interested but not afraid. When an enormous snowstorm freezes the village, Freya and Sylas are sure that the dragon is to blame. Together, they decide to scale the mountain near their village where the dragon supposedly lives—something that, in their entire village, only they are courageous enough to attempt. But when they finally reach the dragon, Freya and Sylas get a surprise: It turns out that the dragon is nothing like what anyone in their village imagined. Could it be, Freya and Sylas wonder, that the dragon isn’t evil at all? This sweet tale of adventure, courage, and compassion is a warmhearted reminder of the dangers of stereotypes and the power of perspective and hope. The manga-style illustrations are colorful and detailed—full of whimsical touches—perfectly complementing the fairy-tale–inspired prose. The story’s moral, while clear, is more lighthearted than preachy, rendering the happy ending entirely satisfying. Freya has light-brown skin and poufy brown hair; Sylas has pale skin and black hair in a topknot. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.3-by-18.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 32.1% of actual size.)
A page-turner of an adventure story about challenging preconceived notions and building empathy and compassion. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-27242-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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