Another addition to the crowded shelf of books celebrating books.
Franklin, a large green dragon, and his friend Luna, a human girl, are about to celebrate the book-loving creature’s 606th birthday.
There’s a special party being planned, but Luna doesn’t want Franklin to know about it. She takes him to a mysterious bookshop, where their adventure starts when Luna’s pet tortoise is trapped in a locked book. In one of the most exciting of the full-bleed, double-page spreads, a swirl of many colors and mysterious symbols, Franklin and Luna follow into the magical world of fairy tales. There, they encounter the usual characters, with some updates. They meet three little pigs building a hotel, “a yawning princess with a bag of frozen peas,” and a host of other characters, including an Asian-appearing knight, a turbaned, bearded maker of glass slippers, a brown-skinned witch, and others. These characters are introduced but do not advance the action. Franklin and Luna (who presents white) finally come up against the big, bad wolf, now a vegetarian yogi, who points out the lost tortoise—who’s winning a race. The trio and all their new fairy-tale friends return to the village for Franklin’s surprise birthday picnic. It’s sweet, but other than diversity in the cast of secondary characters, this third outing for the pair, while echoing a positive message about “friends and books,” doesn’t really present anything new in the world of story.
Another addition to the crowded shelf of books celebrating books. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-500-65175-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Weathers heavy themes with breezy sensitivity…and unicorns!
Emotional storm clouds come between two unicorn friends.
Harking back to Not Quite Narwhal (2017) in both cast and tone, Sima offers a friendship tale in which Kelp’s close and aptly named pal Nimbus acquires a dark little cloud that rains when she feels down. The more she tries to ignore it or bottle it up, the bigger it gets…until it finally breaks out in a storm that sends her fleeing all company to huddle alone in a gloomy forest. There, she discovers that recognizing and getting to know the cloud actually makes it shrink—and just as she’s feeling a bit better, Kelp gallops into view, which sets the stage for a joyful reunion depicted in the sweet, softly hued illustrations with an exuberant rainbow swirl. Kelp, who turns out to be “a very good listener,” acknowledges the cloud matter-of-factly, and Nimbus comes to understand that though she may have up days and down days to come, weathering the latter with an accepting friend will make them easier. If some young readers subject to or familiar with similar storms (or a bit foggy on what a metaphor is) need explanation or discussion about depression to clear the air, the comforting message nonetheless shines brightly. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Weathers heavy themes with breezy sensitivity…and unicorns! (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781665916981
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
Encouragement for moguls-to-be and fun for everyone else.
A young entrepreneur is ready to sell homemade lemonade, but everyone else has already staked out the best spots.
The nameless narrator rolls a colorful stand through the diverse city neighborhood and just keeps on going until reaching the countryside. Pushing it up a hill, the kid loses control, and the tall stand with the lemon on top goes careening through the woods until it finally stops near a river. Unexpectedly, a customer arrives! The kid serves up, and then a steady stream of customers float by: an octopus, two alligators, a sea monster, a diver in an old-fashioned helmet, and more. The kid needs to make more lemonade on the spot. After selling out and trudging home, the kid sleeps through the night dreaming about a future riverside lemonade empire. Careful readers will spot many reminders of the adventure in the kid’s bedroom. A toy octopus’s tentacles overflow from a chest, a diver’s helmet sits on the floor, pictures of sea animals and boats adorn the walls. The lines between reality and fantasy blur…but the tip jar is full. Bright cartoon illustrations are full of funny details (the lemonade-stand sign smiles and frowns expressively), and the alliterative text begs to be read aloud: “I sat for a long while, feeling terrible as a turnip,” the kid grumps at one point. The narrator has textured black hair and a ruddy complexion. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Encouragement for moguls-to-be and fun for everyone else. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2828-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
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