Share this with your favorite atypical kids.
Accepting people for who they are is the gentle message of Bar-el’s latest, which readers may find reminiscent, if not duplicative, of the film How to Train Your Dragon.
Crispin Blaze, scion of a long line of fire-breathing dragons, is on the cusp of his seventh birthday, when he will finally come into his fiery powers. But when asked to light his birthday candles, he breathes whipped cream instead. While his younger sister is pleased, his parents are not—they want him fixed. At the doctor’s, he breathes Band-Aids; at fire-breathing practice, marshmallows (to go with all the flaming logs his friends have lit). Discouraged and unaccepted, Crispin runs away to a cave, where he meets a young knight who understands his plight and tries to help. But spicy foods fail to ignite Crispin’s fire, as do thinking mean thoughts and relaxation techniques. Homesick by nightfall, Crispin is escorted back to his parents by Sir George—at which point, a showdown between their fathers might have had a very unhappy ending but for Crispin’s splendid talent of breathing exactly what is needed. Bowers’ acrylic dragons are delightfully nonscary, and readers will be able to tell their thoughts and feelings with ease; Crispin’s dejected slouch as he runs away from home, toting a heavy suitcase, says it all, as do his befuddled expressions at his nonstandard eruptions.
Share this with your favorite atypical kids. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-670-01402-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
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
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Familiar fare that fans are sure to eagerly snag.
The ever-expanding How To Catch series adds yet another target for young hunters.
Move over, Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and a couple of dozen others: Walstead and Elkerton have another mythical creature in their crosshairs. In this latest installment, a group of diverse campers attempt to capture a shaggy but lovable sasquatch. Bigfoot, whose face is rarely seen and who narrates in verse, emerges from a cozy, elaborate treehouse to investigate a nearby campfire and secure food for a youngster. The scent of s’mores proves a powerful draw, and soon Bigfoot is subjected to the various traps improvised by the kids. Although the campers look “freaked out,” it’s Bigfoot who must run. Snagging a small treat, our narrator (who’s “not SCARY… / just tall and hairy!”) avoids the other lures. Meanwhile, the forest animals accidentally interfere, and the kids struggle with some unworkable options, like a water-spraying robot (delivered to their campsite?). Finally, the campers, realizing that Bigfoot has a child, leave the “Bigfoot Family” a cooler full of food, and Bigfoot happily concludes, “Now my son has all the friends / he could ever really need” (though they never actually interact—still, it’s better than being prey!). Uneven rhythm makes the lines wobbly, though the rhymes generally work. Elkerton uses lots of bird’s-eye perspectives in his usual colorful cartoon style; the wacky hijinks will keep series devotees entertained.
Familiar fare that fans are sure to eagerly snag. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9781464230776
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
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