Brill’s tale tips the didactic scale, but the importance of rules needs to reach dragon-loving kids as well.
A tiny dragon wants to fly—and picks up important life lessons as well.
Little Wing is determined. Today will be the day to finally fly! But with wings fluttering and tiny legs pumping, it always ends the same way: “Flip. / Flap. / Flop….” Jumping from the top step? “Flip. / Flap. / Flop….” What about running down a hill for extra speed? “Flip. / Flap. / Flop….” But a dragon never gives up. Suddenly, at the most unexpected moment, Little Wing is “Flip! / Flap! / FLYING!” Little Wing’s mama is proud, but she needs to impart three very important flying rules. Little Wing, however, is too excited to listen. The little tot flies too high (the opposite of the first rule), flies too far (the second), and flies off without Mama (the third). The tiny dragon is now in a dark forest, all alone. Bravado gone, and lip quivering, Little Wing is “Flip. / Flap. / Frightened!” Luckily, Mama is not far behind. Told in first person (first dragon?), Little Wing’s journey from frustration to egocentric bluster to fear seems a bit linear and quick but is true to a toddler’s sensibilities. Bell’s digital illustrations (combining pencils, watercolors, and Photoshop) depict a bigheaded red dragonlet with tiny purple wings; Little Wing looks the opposite of aerodynamic, but that’s part of the charm.
Brill’s tale tips the didactic scale, but the importance of rules needs to reach dragon-loving kids as well. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-236033-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
The insatiable elder is still ingesting the unpalatable, to kids’ everlasting amusement.
Swallowing a rainbow sets off a series of events that lead to a surprising conclusion.
The title character begins by consuming a cloud—and who hasn’t wished to do that? The cloud is meant to carry the rainbow, but why did she swallow it? The somewhat weak answer: “I don’t know why she swallowed a rainbow. Would you like to know?” The cloud is followed by glitter (kids, don’t try this at home!), then by a cone to catch the glitter, a pole to lift the cone, ribbon to tie the cone, and a horse (“silly, of course”). Then suddenly the lady starts to run, and the items painlessly reappear. The cone becomes a unicorn’s horn, and the unicorn becomes part of a small carousel with golden, beribboned poles and two more matching unicorns, topped with the glitter-sprinkled cloud and the rainbow arching over all. The dame and a half-dozen children stand watching in breathless excitement. As per the astoundingly successful formula, the repetitive text is irresistible and the zany art is more than half the fun. The dame’s head swells to accommodate a mouth capable of the necessary swallowing feats, and her small black dog—whose mouth stretches from ear to nose—is on hand to celebrate key moments. The old lady has pink skin and dark hair, and the children have a range of skin tones.
The insatiable elder is still ingesting the unpalatable, to kids’ everlasting amusement. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781546138525
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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