Review by New York Times Review
What's not to love about a book with the absurdist premise that dragons love tacos - as long as they're not too spicy? Rubin and Salmieri, the team behind the equally hilarious "Those Darn Squirrels!," bring their kooky sensibility to this irresistible story about what can go wrong at a taco party for dragons. (A hint: jalapeños set more than just human mouths afire.) Salmieri's pencil-and-watercolor drawings are not only a wacky delight, they're also strangely beautiful. The dragons may screw up the party, but this book gets everything right. ELEPHANT JOE, BRAVE KNIGHT! Written and illustrated by David Wojtowycz. 32 pp. Random House. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 6) Elephant Joe and Zebra Pete are peacefully swimming in a moat (on floaties, naturally) when a cry for help rings out from the castle. Quest and adventure ensue, illustrated in colorfully eclectic digital collage, when the king claims that a dark knight has stolen his crown. A wisecracking frog, a fair damsel in disguise and a dragon that is far more ticklish than fierce also figure into the tale, which takes gleeful pleasure in upending fairy tale cliché. HOW TO BE FRIENDS WITH A DRAGON Written and illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev. 32 pp. Albert Whitman & Company. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 7) If you've never thought of dragons as especially sweet creatures, this delicious story about making friends and maintaining good manners will rid you of worn-out prejudice. Gorbachev's soft, dreamy watercolor-and-ink illustrations are well suited to the story of Simon, whose big sister Emma offers a helpful guide to befriending-a dragon - without causing the creature offense. Needless to say, Simon wants to do right but can't always carry through. A good dragon friend understands. A GOLD STAR FOR ZOG By Julia Donaldson. Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. 32 pp. Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) Finally, a lightly Americanized version of "Zog" hits these shores from the creators of "The Graffalo" and other hugely popular British picture books. Donaldson, the current children's laureate in Britain, is a master of witty comic rhyme and original stories with heart ("Stick Man," "The Snail and the Whale"). Here she and Scheffler outdo themselves with the smart, funny - dare I say, deep? - story of a dragon in training, a princess who wants to be a doctor and a knight who could use a bit of rescuing. The book gets a gold star too. KING ARTHUR'S VERY GREAT GRANDSON Written and illustrated by Kenneth Kraegel. 40 pp. Candlewick Press. $15.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 8) From a gifted new author-illustrator comes an original story about a very old hand: namely, Henry Alfred Grummorson, the great-greatgreat-great-great-great-great-grandson of King Arthur. On the day of his sixth birthday, Henry sets out for peril and conquest. "He had heard of a fire-breathing dragon lurking far out in the hills, so into the hills he went." Alas, all he finds are peaceable beasts. A Cyclops who prefers staring contests, a dragon who blows smoke rings, a griffin who plays chess - everyone's actually pretty friendly. It's still exciting. PAMELA PAUL ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 17, 2012]
Review by Booklist Review
Poor Zog. He's a student in Madam Dragon's class on all the things dragons need to know, but the gold star he so desperately seeks may prove elusive. During flying lessons, he sails head-first into a tree; his voice grows hoarse while practicing his roar; and he catches his tail on fire during the flame-breathing drills. Fortunately, Zog, a curious orange fellow with a unicorn's horn, meets Princess Pearl, and she helps him to earn his shiny star at last. An unexpected, bizarre twist follows, involving the two teaming up for a career in medical services, with Zog serving as the flying ambulance. The rhymes here are often as bumpy as Zog in flight A year went by, and in Year Three the dragons learned to blow. / 'No!' said Madam Dragon. 'Breathe out fire, not snow!' but the bold, bright art is humorous in its depiction of the accident-prone dragon and his comrades. This British import may ease the fears of kids with back-to-school anxiety.--Kelley, Ann Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a fractured fairy tale of sorts from the duo behind The Gruffalo and other stories, Zog wants to be the best student in dragon school, but he crashes into a tree during flying lessons, gets a sore throat from roaring, and ignites his wings with his own fire breathing. A nice girl always appears just in time to patch him up, but she has troubles of her own: she's really Princess Pearl, who yearns to escape the royal life and be a doctor. Will Zog and Pearl get the happy endings they deserve? And what of Gadabout the Great, a knight who shows up to "rescue" Pearl? Donaldson's rhymes are somewhat lackluster ("Zog went off to practice./ He tried and tried and tried,/ But he simply couldn't manage./ 'I'm no good at this,' he cried"), but while Scheffler's characters are straight out of fantasy, they exude a sweet, down-to-earth quality that makes them instantly sympathetic. Readers will get a kick out of the genial self-awareness in his cartooning-on almost every spread, a character glances at the audience as if to say, "Can you believe this?" Ages 4-8. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-In this rhyming story, Zog is subpar at most dragon skills despite being the largest dragon at school. Though he wants to win a gold star, he fails flying, roaring, and fire-breathing, and each time he attempts any of them his injuries are treated by a gentle human who turns out to be Princess Pearl. The kindhearted girl agrees to be captured so that her friend can finally earn his star. She then remains as medic to all the dragons. When a knight in armor arrives to rescue her, she stops the fighting by explaining she'd rather be a doctor than a princess, and the knight agrees to work with her-with Zog serving as an ambulance. Humorous illustrations feature dragons in primary colors with comical expressions in richly colored forest and mountain landscapes. The artist cleverly captures the dragons' enthusiasm and depicts the princess with a long nose and vibrant outfits. Donaldson's rhymes have a bouncing cadence that guides the story's flow. A delightful new twist on happily-ever-after.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Zog may be in dragon school, but it feels more like the School of Hard Knocks when he crashes into a tree during flying practice. Fortunately for him, a girl in the field where he lands offers him a Band-Aid. As the years go by, she faithfully shows up with different remedies -- a peppermint for Zog's sore throat in year two, a gauze bandage for his singed wing in year three -- and finally gives him the most useful gift of all: she reveals that she's a princess just as Zog fears he's about to fail year four's capture-a-princess test, earning him a gold star. A multicolored, endearingly homely cast of cartoon dragons attends class in the woodland setting, where none of the birds, bunnies, butterflies, or other critters seem remotely afraid of the fire-breathers in their midst. Bouncing smoothly along, the rhyming text shows how the friendship between Zog and Princess Pearl comes to benefit them both. "Zog was proud and happy, and Pearl felt good as well. / She took the dragons' temperatures, and nursed them when they fell." (Her Highness has always dreamed of being a doctor.) christine m. heppermann (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
