Flashy but flat.
Little Emma’s cardboard creation conquers the world!
Egg Box Dragon’s eyes are made of “shiny bicycle reflectors,” and most of the rest of him is fashioned from cut-up pieces of an egg carton, painted green. When Emma brings him home, perched atop a pillow in her little red wagon, “everyone admired him enormously.” The local gardener declares, “that critter’s got magic”—a prophetic statement, as the next morning he develops a reputation as the supreme finder of lost articles. These include Emma’s dad’s glasses, next-door-neighbor Mrs. Hapgood’s tortoise, and little Tom’s missing soccer ball (called a “football” in this British import). Aided by the TV news, the Egg Box Dragon’s reputation spreads all the way to the queen. When she loses the biggest diamond in her crown, she sends a royal car to Emma’s house to ask for Egg Box Dragon’s help. He succeeds handily, receiving a medal and a whole chocolate cake. Smith’s illustrations are delightful, with an appealing abundance of white space, and a whole lot of fun with the diminutive draconic protagonist. Perhaps most delicious of all is his untraditional casting of palace personnel, from a queen of color through her evidently mostly female staff, including butler and soldiers. (Emma and her family present white.) But the story, a posthumous offering from the author of Watership Down, feels haphazard, all the way down to Emma’s nonrelationship with her creation.
Flashy but flat. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4449-3840-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hachette UK
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
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
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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