Inferno or no, this book’s gentle call to show appreciation to others adroitly conveys its message.
Is your dragon flagging? Use this charming French import to put the spark back in your relationship.
A young child wearing a pink homburg is faced with a bit of a pickle: Their dragon, a morose fellow with a bright red head and teal body with black polka dots, isn’t breathing fire these days. “Not even the tiniest flicker of flame.” Acting as a kind of guidebook, the second-person narration instructs the child on a multitude of possible cures. Have you given him “a good shake”? Bounced on his belly? Made him angry or jealous? When (much) silly trial and error yields bupkis, child informs the blaze-impeded reptile that no matter what, they’ll “always love him.” Elation finally fuels conflagration, and the dragon spurts a sheer rainbow of happy fire (his pleased owner merrily ducking for cover). Happily, the dragon does not suffer in the least from the protagonist’s various forms of experimentation, looking, at worst, mildly perturbed. Though the text evokes instructional booklets, the art is a wild and wonderful amalgamation of bold colors and striking design. The typography almost steals the show with its marvelous variety. Yet it is the message to sit down and tell someone that they are loved that gives the book its true firepower.
Inferno or no, this book’s gentle call to show appreciation to others adroitly conveys its message. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-500-65197-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like the last sip of a chocolate milkshake, it’s very satisfying.
A story-reading dragon—what’s not to like?
Duncan the Dragon loves to read. But the stories so excite him, his imagination catches fire—and so do his books, leaving him wondering about the endings. Does the captain save the ship? Do aliens conquer the Earth? Desperate to reach the all-important words “The End” (“like the last sip of a chocolate milk shake”), he tries reading in the refrigerator, in front of a bank of electric fans, and even in a bathtub filled with ice. Nothing works. He decides to ask a friend to read to him, but the raccoon, possum, and bull all refuse. Weeping, Duncan is ready to give up, but one of his draconic tears runs “split-splat into a mouse,” a book-loving mouse! Together they battle sea monsters, dodge icebergs, and discover new lands, giving rise to a fast friendship. Driscoll’s friendly illustrations are pencil sketches painted in Adobe Photoshop; she varies full-bleed paintings with vignettes surrounded by white space, imaginary scenes rendered in monochrome to set them apart. Duncan himself is green, winged, and scaly, but his snout is unthreateningly bovine, and he wears red sneakers with his shoelaces untied—a nicely vulnerable touch. Though there are lots of unusual friendship stories in picture books, the vivid colors, expressive faces, and comic details make this one likely to be a storytime hit.
Like the last sip of a chocolate milkshake, it’s very satisfying. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-75507-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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