RETURN OF THE UNDERWEAR DRAGON

Tiny Sir Cole (newly knighted, of course) embarks on his latest adventure: to teach the Underwear Dragon how to read.

In need of an assistant, Sir Cole, who presents White, writes an open letter soliciting applicants. The missive inspires a long line of wannabe knights, from “jousting jugglers” to “twin candy hoarders.” Rather than deal with the whole assistant-hiring business, Sir Cole decides to go on a walk. The many “No Dragons Allowed” signs he sees cause him to realize that the Underwear Dragon might not know how to read. Sir Cole sets off. When the tiny knight knocks on the cave door, the Underwear Dragon (still reeling from his defeat in Attack of the Underwear Dragon, 2020) initially refuses to talk to Sir Cole. “That’s right. Underwear Dragons get embarrassed.” Donning a duck disguise, the Underwear Dragon accedes to Sir Cole’s request and begins the hard work of learning how to read. Eventually, frustrations take over, and the Underwear Dragon flies off on a rampage. Right when Sir Cole readies to give up, hope arrives in the form of Claire, a knight-in-waiting Black girl armed with an Outwit Dragon kit. Packed with similar strands of humor as its predecessor, although perhaps with a few more potty jokes thrown in, Rothman and Oswald’s delightful sequel rightly captures the thrills and vexations afflicting all new readers. Now it’s the Underwear Dragon’s turn in the spotlight, and shine he does. The stylized artwork, meanwhile, retains its ability to provoke laughs and sympathy in equal measure.

Hooray for the Underwear Dragon!