A roar-ing good time!
What to do when you suddenly find yourself turned into a dino?
Rory is having the weirdest week ever. It starts off normally: He’s psyched about a new update to his favorite online game but arrives late to school despite his mum’s best efforts. Then he gets in trouble when he falls asleep in class, which leads to a panic attack—a common occurrence due to his ADHD, which he takes in stride (“Just a glitch,” as he tells his friends). That night, his mum serves him “dinosaur pie” for dinner, which tastes pretty good but makes him sleepy. When Rory awakens, he’s a feathered, square-jawed Deinonychus. Concerned, Rory’s mum checks the package label: “CAUTION: MAY CAUSE DINOSAUR TRANSFORMATION.” Now Rory is stuck as a dino until they can figure out what to do. For the rest of the week, he and his friends take a lot of selfies, his mum writes him a note explaining his odd appearance to his teachers, and they all try to investigate the store where the dinosaur pie came from. Though Rory deals with the ramifications of having a tail and not being able to talk, overall, this is a goofy story sure to inspire laughs. The tone stays light throughout, and the first-person narration offers readers a window into Rory’s thoughts. Amusing, blocky illustrations depict Rory and his mum with pale skin; several secondary characters are dark-skinned.
A roar-ing good time! (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781915071491
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Little Island
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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
An enigmatic, quirky representation of an active imagination in search of understanding and companionship.
A child finds connection to the world all around in this Korean import.
The illustrations in this unusual picture book achieve a 3-D effect reminiscent of claymation. The opening scene shows an aerial view of a playground scattered with maple and gingko leaves; a tethered dog watches a child aiming at marbles. Accustomed to spending time alone and solitary play, Tong Tong’s fertile imagination infuses a bag of assorted spherical hard candies with powers that give voice to unlikely speakers, such as the living room sofa and Marbles the old dog, each speaking with Tong Tong to share a sentient perspective. The hard candies also channel the tough love hidden within Tong Tong’s father and Grandma’s bubbly, reassuring voice emanating from another realm. The candies’ magic reveals yet another dimension when Tong Tong is drawn outdoors to witness nature’s beauty as copious falling leaves bid farewell to the season. Through these uncanny exchanges, Tong Tong not only makes surprising discoveries, but also delves into complex emotions, celebrates a continuing relationship with Grandma, and takes courageous steps toward a tantalizing conclusion. The enhanced artwork establishes depth and perspective, featuring details some may find initially unsettling—along with the cryptic, open-ended narrative. That said, depictions of facial expressions are skillful and endearing, and the interplay between text and illustrations will cause readers to linger and ponder.
An enigmatic, quirky representation of an active imagination in search of understanding and companionship. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2959-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Amazon Crossing Kids
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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