A comedic appetite for destruction offers giggles galore.
A monster makes a mess of an idyllic island.
Godzilla customarily emerges from the sea off the coast of Japan. Here, it incongruously arrives in a distinctly European fairy-tale setting, an island whose residents include the Gingerbread Man, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack, climbing his beanstalk. Godzilla, it seems, has truly lost its way. The Gingerbread Man, who spots the monster first, cries, “GODZILLA! STOP! You’re in the wrong story!” But Godzilla won’t be deterred; its sole purpose in life is to STOMP. There’s little rhyme or reason to Godzilla’s antics, but each interaction is silly-scary and inevitably messy. The Gingerbread Man gets stuck on the sole of the beast’s enormous, sharp-clawed green foot; the reptilian behemoth bypasses the royal ball in favor of planting a satisfying squish on Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage. Most of the creature’s destruction is wanton and reckless, but one stomp proves unintentionally helpful. The witch from Hansel and Gretel loses her Candy House—“at least [she] won’t lure any more kids.” In Godzilla’s wake, the village is forever changed. Fans of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series and similar stories that celebrate the gleeful chaos of childhood will enjoy Godzilla’s nonstop, over-the-top stompfest, emphasized in detailed illustrations replete with active blasts of color and debris. Calm, collected, morally irreproachable preschoolers need not apply.
A comedic appetite for destruction offers giggles galore. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9798217245918
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Clever inspiration for bold-hearted storytellers.
Get comfy! This storyteller has just the right tale.
A beige-skinned elflike protagonist sits in the dark by a small fire and invites readers to listen to “THE GREATEST BEDTIME STORY EVER.” Quickly, we flash back to a scene of the elf, in pursuit of literary inspiration, foolishly following an eerie sound to a cave. There, our hero meets a fire-breathing dragon who is unable to sleep without a snack. Fearing the worst (the dragon is eyeing the elf hungrily), the elf offers to tell a bedtime story instead. After the narrator writes and illustrates a story and then reads it aloud, the dragon falls asleep. On the verge of escape, the storyteller suddenly comes to a horrible realization: “I had left behind the Greatest Bedtime Story Ever!” Returning for it, the protagonist steps on a bone, awakens the dragon, and is devoured by the creature. We never do learn what was in the tale told to the dragon, but the one the elf relates is absorbing, an entertaining metafictional riff on the challenges of storytelling. The abrupt conclusion may disturb more sensitive youngsters, but many will find it great fun—they’ll enjoy rereads knowing that the protagonist is narrating from the belly of the beast. Sima’s appealing digital art slyly alternates sweetness (the dragon clutching a plush toy while listening to the story) with tension and even scares (a close-up of that toothy dragon maw).
Clever inspiration for bold-hearted storytellers. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 9, 2026
ISBN: 9781665974523
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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