A charming tale of friendship, family, and the ups and downs of dragon ownership.
A girl and her pet dragon cope with changes.
Timir is no ordinary dragon—not that any dragons are ordinary. He talks when he’s with his person, Luma, a British Pakistani girl, but when anyone else is around, he turns into a dog. The only other person who knows Timir’s secret is Luma’s Nani (grandmother). In “The Hiccupping Dragon,” the first story in this book, Timir finds himself with the hiccups. Nani tells Luma and Timir that means that Timir’s flame is on its way—in other words, he’ll be able to breathe fire. Timir doesn’t like fire, but Nani says that the charm bracelet she gave Luma contains a locket to render the flame harmless—if only Luma can figure out how to open it. In the second story of the book, “The Prickly Tickle,” Luma and Timir prepare for a dog show, but it ends up coinciding with the dragon finally learning to fly. And, of course, he does not like flying—it makes him feel “prickly” and “tickly.” Meanwhile Luma is worried about Timir spreading his wings too far and never returning to her. Accompanied by adorable black-and-white illustrations, this second installment in the series is a sweet tale that makes for easy, breezy reading, with a relatable focus on friendship and fears coupled with themes of magic.
A charming tale of friendship, family, and the ups and downs of dragon ownership. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-80130-028-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Welbeck Flame
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
A close encounter of the best kind.
Left behind when the space bus departs, a child discovers that the moon isn’t as lifeless as it looks.
While the rest of the space-suited class follows the teacher like ducklings, one laggard carrying crayons and a sketchbook sits down to draw our home planet floating overhead, falls asleep, and wakes to see the bus zooming off. The bright yellow bus, the gaggle of playful field-trippers, and even the dull gray boulders strewn over the equally dull gray lunar surface have a rounded solidity suggestive of Plasticine models in Hare’s wordless but cinematic scenes…as do the rubbery, one-eyed, dull gray creatures (think: those stress-busting dolls with ears that pop out when squeezed) that emerge from the regolith. The mutual shock lasts but a moment before the lunarians eagerly grab the proffered crayons to brighten the bland gray setting with silly designs. The creatures dive into the dust when the bus swoops back down but pop up to exchange goodbye waves with the errant child, who turns out to be an olive-skinned kid with a mop of brown hair last seen drawing one of their new friends with the one crayon—gray, of course—left in the box. Body language is expressive enough in this debut outing to make a verbal narrative superfluous.
A close encounter of the best kind. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4253-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
A story of friendship that is both lively and lovely
Two friends embark upon a high-seas adventure.
Kondo, a large lemon-colored creature with wide round eyes, spends his day on his island home with his best friend, tangerine-hued Kezumi. Together, they frolic on their idyllic isle picking berries (tall Kondo nabs the higher fruit while Kezumi helps to retrieve the lower) while surrounded by tiny “flitter-birds” and round “fluffle-bunnies.” One day, Kezumi finds a map in a bottle that declares “WE ARE NOT ALONE.” Inspired by visions of a larger world, Kondo and Kezumi fashion a boat from a bathtub and set sail. The pair visits fantastical islands—deliciously cheese-laden Dairy Isle, the fiery and fearsome Fireskull Island—until they eventually settle upon the titular Giant Island, where they meet Albert, a gigantic gray talking mountain who is—obviously—unable to leave. Enthralled by his new friends, Albert wants them to stay forever. After Albert makes a fraught decision, Kondo and Kezumi find themselves at a crossroads and must confront their new friend. Goodner and Tsurumi’s brightly illustrated chapter book should find favor with fans of Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen’s similarly designed Mercy Watson series. Short, wry, descriptive sentences make for an equally enjoyable experience whether read aloud or independently. Episodic chapters move the action along jauntily; the conclusion is somewhat abrupt, but it promises more exploration and adventures for the best friends. (This review was originally published in the June 1, 2019, issue. The book data has been updated to reflect changes in publisher and date of publication.)
A story of friendship that is both lively and lovely (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-02577-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
