An educational tale that may help kids understand the feelings of transgender people.
A colorful picture book about a gentle dragon that addresses transgender concepts.
Horus the dragon lives in a village, where he takes care of kittens at the animal shelter and sings in his church choir. Horus also has a deep, secret sadness. As a boy dragon, he can breathe fire, but he longs to have beautiful wings and other things that are only part of a girl dragon’s life. For many years, Horus buries his true self and cries alone in his bungalow, until one Sunday, when a beautiful dragon with rainbow wings speaks at his church. Horus learns that he isn’t alone in feeling that his body isn’t quite right for him, and he finally gets wings and becomes Harriet, the female dragon that she was always meant to be. Horus/Harriet is an appealing, stereotype-busting character and debut author/illustrator Stefaniuk-Gaudet’s images are effective, with bright colors and engaging details. At times, the book’s language gets a bit complex for kids: “They were talking about exciting new 3D printing technology that could potentially help little boy dragons grow up into lady dragons.” Overall, however, it fulfills its promise as a good place to begin a discussion of transgender identity with youngsters.
An educational tale that may help kids understand the feelings of transgender people.Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5255-1090-8
Page Count: 33
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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