A tiny dragon wants to fly—and picks up important life lessons as well.
Little Wing is determined. Today will be the day to finally fly! But with wings fluttering and tiny legs pumping, it always ends the same way: “Flip. / Flap. / Flop….” Jumping from the top step? “Flip. / Flap. / Flop….” What about running down a hill for extra speed? “Flip. / Flap. / Flop….” But a dragon never gives up. Suddenly, at the most unexpected moment, Little Wing is “Flip! / Flap! / FLYING!” Little Wing’s mama is proud, but she needs to impart three very important flying rules. Little Wing, however, is too excited to listen. The little tot flies too high (the opposite of the first rule), flies too far (the second), and flies off without Mama (the third). The tiny dragon is now in a dark forest, all alone. Bravado gone, and lip quivering, Little Wing is “Flip. / Flap. / Frightened!” Luckily, Mama is not far behind. Told in first person (first dragon?), Little Wing’s journey from frustration to egocentric bluster to fear seems a bit linear and quick but is true to a toddler’s sensibilities. Bell’s digital illustrations (combining pencils, watercolors, and Photoshop) depict a bigheaded red dragonlet with tiny purple wings; Little Wing looks the opposite of aerodynamic, but that’s part of the charm.
Brill’s tale tips the didactic scale, but the importance of rules needs to reach dragon-loving kids as well. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-236033-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
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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 28, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S DRAGONS & MYTHICAL CREATURES
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What to do when you’re a prickly animal hankering for a hug? Why, find another misfit animal also searching for an embrace!
Sweet but “tricky to hug” little Hedgehog is down in the dumps. Wandering the forest, Hedgehog begs different animals for hugs, but each rejects them. Readers will giggle at their panicked excuses—an evasive squirrel must suddenly count its three measly acorns; a magpie begins a drawn-out song—but will also be indignant on poor hedgehog’s behalf. Hedgehog has the appealingly pink-cheeked softness typical of Dunbar’s art, and the gentle watercolors are nonthreatening, though she also captures the animals’ genuine concern about being poked. A wise owl counsels the dejected hedgehog that while the prickles may frighten some, “there’s someone for everyone.” That’s when Hedgehog spots a similarly lonely tortoise, rejected due to its “very hard” shell but perfectly matched for a spiky new friend. They race toward each other until the glorious meeting, marked with swoony peach swirls and overjoyed grins. At this point, readers flip the book to hear the same gloomy tale from the tortoise’s perspective until it again culminates in that joyous hug, a book turn that’s made a pleasure with thick creamy paper and solid binding.
Watching unlikely friends finally be as “happy as two someones can be” feels like being enveloped in your very own hug. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-571-34875-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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