Goofy antics for those who delight in bathroom humor.
Who knew dragons fancied scanties?
In days of yore, dragons soar through the skies sporting colorful underpants. Unfortunately, their drawers don’t last long due to the dragons’ penchant for breathing fire. The Kingdom of Pantasia, ruled by “pants-mad King Top-Bot” (referring to the British term for underpants), is never in short supply of shorts. Storming in to purloin its vast stores, the scaly beasts terrorize the villagers and even beat back the king’s knight, Sir Y-Front (referring to another British term). Worse, they make “brief” work of the king, flying off with him and threatening to “scorch him on the rear” unless they receive “piles of pants.” Happily, resourceful Princess Tilly has a plan that results in a brilliant solution—”METAL pants!” (Inflammable, don’t you know?) The dragons are so overjoyed—”These pants will last FOREVER!”—that they release the king. Afterward, that esteemed royal throws a grand feast, attended by everyone, including the dragons, now wearing their fancy new drawers. Told in rollicking (though uneven) verse, this U.K. import mines some mild laughs from the subject of undies; it might even persuade youngsters who are still in diapers to be fierce like dragons and take that step. Use of the Briticisms pants and Y-Front might perplex little ones this side of the pond, but the energetic images of the colorful dragons in their oversize, patterned underwear make up for that point. Human characters are diverse.
Goofy antics for those who delight in bathroom humor. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781665968645
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
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
Fans of the series will delight in seeing these favorites again, and Girl and Dragon should win some new ones.
A young girl and a dragon take their sweet friendship on an adventure.
After sharing the beginning and deepening of their friendship in Lovabye Dragon (2012) and Evermore Dragon (2015), Joosse puts this twosome on a journey to the high seas. Girl, forever sleeping in her same bed, dreams of sailing away. Dragon, snug in his lair, dreams of sailing with Girl. “Sometimes when friends share a heart / they dream the same thing, apart.” So they pack a wicker basket, a spyglass, and a banner and wave goodbye. The ocean provides plenty of interest with dolphins, whales, and Bad Hats with ratty beards (depicted as Vikings who differ only in the amount of their facial hair). There’s also a cat. The dreamy, highly textured oil pictures by Cecil in his signature palette of gentle grays, greens, and blues make the transition from land to sea seamlessly. With a tender nod to “The Owl and the Pussycat,” the scenery is full of diversions while the clever rhyming verse full of wordplay drifts the story farther from Home. The hazy images allow young minds to see this tiny princess with dark hair as racially ambiguous. As in many famous stories, one must leave home to find home, which is the same for these two loving friends. “With Dragon as boat / and Girl as crew / there was nothing—nothing—they couldn’t do!”
Fans of the series will delight in seeing these favorites again, and Girl and Dragon should win some new ones. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7313-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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