Fun to read and visually appealing but unlikely to be a perennial favorite.
Humorous rhymes and comical pictures compare stereotypical expectations of princesses and dragons, ending with a sly observation.
On the first verso, a froglike creature is reading a book that is explained on the recto: “Would you rather be a princess or a dragon? You’ll never know which one to be until you’ve tried. / If you want to be a princess or a dragon, here’s a book that might help you decide.” The text goes on to compare such “truisms” as princesses’ preference for the color pink and dragons’ for green; bubble baths vs. dirt and dainty eating vs. gorging are a couple of the other sets of oppositions. Striving for consistent rhyme can be a challenge: it’s a stretch to think of “a perfect princess wave” as the opposite of looking for “the perfect dragon cave.” The rhymes do not always scan well, but the combination of mixed-media cartoon art and lighthearted text will keep young children engaged. The face of the princess is a few shades darker than lily-white, topped by wavy auburn hair; the friendly-appearing dragon seems to be cut from textured green paper, its features inked on top. The use of photographed pink bubble wrap for the princess’s bubble bath adds to the frivolous mood. The ending combines a not-very-subtle reminder about the need to question behavioral expectations for children with a sight gag.
Fun to read and visually appealing but unlikely to be a perennial favorite. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62672-358-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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
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A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts.
A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.
Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-30003-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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BOOK REVIEW
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