Despite its cuddly characters, this uplifting but unevenly developed friendship tale doesn’t quite soar.
A lonely little girl befriends a wingless dragon.
Every day, in a seaside village “with cobblestone streets, a water fountain, and an ice cream stand,” Rosie watches the other children laugh and play. She wishes they “would see her.” Every day, from his tree overlooking the village, Rasmus watches birds twirl in the sky. He wishes he could fly. When Rosie approaches Rasmus’ tree and he offers her a flower, the two become fast friends. Rosie teaches him to jump rope and pirouette; Rasmus shows her his flying kite, floating balloons, and favorite book (starring a soaring dragon). With clever kid logic, Rosie devises adaptations to help him fly, encouraging him in speech bubbles to no avail—until, out-of-the-blue, Rasmus sprouts his own wings. His wish granted, Rasmus sadly bids Rosie adieu (why he must leave is never explained); Rosie sadly resumes watching the other children play until, one day….Geddes’ large-font text is lightly rhythmic; her pale, fuzzy pastels are soothing and humorous, and her protagonists’ sniffles and smiles endearing. Unfortunately, her heavy focus on Rosie’s helping Rasmus to fly turns him into a project as much as a friend. Additionally, if readers interpret Rasmus’ missing wings as a disability, his obsession with flying and his abrupt wing growth may call to mind such overused tropes as a disabled character pining to be nondisabled and their miraculous recovery. Rosie is white; there is some diversity among the other children.
Despite its cuddly characters, this uplifting but unevenly developed friendship tale doesn’t quite soar. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4814-9874-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
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
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A welcome addition to autumnal storytelling—and to tales of traditional enemies overcoming their history.
Ferry and the Fans portray a popular seasonal character’s unlikely friendship.
Initially, the protagonist is shown in his solitary world: “Scarecrow stands alone and scares / the fox and deer, / the mice and crows. / It’s all he does. It’s all he knows.” His presence is effective; the animals stay outside the fenced-in fields, but the omniscient narrator laments the character’s lack of friends or places to go. Everything changes when a baby crow falls nearby. Breaking his pole so he can bend, the scarecrow picks it up, placing the creature in the bib of his overalls while singing a lullaby. Both abandon natural tendencies until the crow learns to fly—and thus departs. The aabb rhyme scheme flows reasonably well, propelling the narrative through fall, winter, and spring, when the mature crow returns with a mate to build a nest in the overalls bib that once was his home. The Fan brothers capture the emotional tenor of the seasons and the main character in their panoramic pencil, ballpoint, and digital compositions. Particularly poignant is the close-up of the scarecrow’s burlap face, his stitched mouth and leaf-rimmed head conveying such sadness after his companion goes. Some adults may wonder why the scarecrow seems to have only partial agency, but children will be tuned into the problem, gratified by the resolution.
A welcome addition to autumnal storytelling—and to tales of traditional enemies overcoming their history. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-247576-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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