100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli (David LaRochelle)

100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli
David LaRochelle, illustrations by Lian Cho
Dial Books
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Humor/Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: 100 dragons live together in a high mountain cave, each and every one of them named Broccoli. When a storm sweeps half of them away, the dragons begin to find their own ways in the world... and maybe new names.

REVIEW: This picture book has one of the best titles ever, and I finally managed to read it during some down time at my job. With colorful images, and sparse words, the tale counts down (and sometimes up) the remaining dragons in the mountain cave as the horde breaks up and seeks their fortunes in a variety of places doing a variety of jobs, from becoming professional surfers in Hawaii to trying their luck as actors in Hollywood. A nice tale with plenty of fun dragon antics to enjoy.

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A Dignity of Dragons (Jacqueline Ogburn) - My Review
The Dragons are Singing Tonight (Jack Prelutsky) - My Review
Dragons Love Tacos (Adam Rubin) - My Review

The Bakery Dragon (Devin Elle Kurtz)

The Bakery Dragon
Devin Elle Kurtz
Knopf
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Picture Book
****+ (Good/Great)

DESCRIPTION: A dragon is never a proper dragon until they have a hoard of gold, but when little Ember tries following the others, he's too small and clumsy to steal from humans, and is soon left behind. Determined not to return home until he gets his paws on treasure, he stays overnight in a human town... only to discover a new kind of "gold" at the local bakery.

REVIEW: I've been keeping an eye on this one, having followed the artist's works online for a while, but never got a chance to corner the book at work for a read until today. With bright, charming illustrations, author/artist Kurtz tells a simple, warmhearted story of a little misfit finding his own way to succeed. Quite enjoyable, and a nice way to fill some down time at work.

You Might Also Enjoy:
The Dragon With a Chocolate Heart (Stephanie Burgis) - My Review
The Truth About Dragons (Julie Leung) - My Review
The Tea Dragon Society (K. O'Neill) - My Review

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Jon Scieszka)

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
Jon Scieszka, illustrations by Lane Smith
Viking
Fiction, CH Collection/Fantasy/Humor/Picture Book
****+ (Good/Great)

DESCRIPTION: A Goldilocks thwarted by the exceptionally oversized chairs at the home of the Three Elephants... a peculiar race to determine if the Hare really can grow hair faster than the Tortoise can run... a giant who insists on adding his own story to a fairy tale collection... a mischievous little man made entirely of stinky cheese... What, these aren't the stories you're used to? Correct - they're not fairy tales. They're fairly stupid tales, brought to you by your narrator, Jack.

REVIEW: This award-winning book still gets decent library circulation, so it was there when we hit a lull at work. Just as the title promises, every story in this collection is stupid and more than a little sarcastic and silly. The fourth wall is gleefully shattered by Jack, a narrator who often has trouble keeping the characters in line, while the little red hen (who canonically made a loaf of bread without assistance despite repeated requests for aid with planting the wheat, milling the flour, and baking the loaf) insists on trying to squeeze her story into whatever blank spaces she can find... even if they're before the title page or on the back cover. The tales are all short enough not to overstay their welcome, as is the book itself. It made this grown-up chuckle more than once.

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Chloe and the Lion (Mac Barnett) - My Review
The Boy Who Cried Ninja (Alex Latimer) - My Review
The Paper Bag Princess (Robert N. Munsch) - My Review

The Truth About Dragons (Julie Leung)

The Truth About Dragons
Julie Leung, illustrations by Hanna Cha
Henry Holt and Co.
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Picture Book/Poetry
***** (Great)

DESCRIPTION: At bedtime, a young child's mother tells him a tale of two grandmothers and two dragons, both of which hold their own truth.

REVIEW: This gorgeous picture book celebrates two cultures with two different dragon traditions. Are dragons dangerous hoarders of gold or benevolent river spirits? They are both (and more besides), and for a child with a biracial background, they both have wonder and wisdom to share. The dragon illustrations simply gleam on the page.

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Drawn Together (Minh Le) - My Review
John Ronald's Dragons (Caroline McAlister) - My Review
Tell Me a Dragon (Jackie Morris) - My Review

Fire Truck vs. Dragon (Chris Barton)

Fire Truck vs. Dragon
Chris Barton, illustrations by Shanda McCloskey
Little, Brown Books
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Humor/Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Dragon and Fire Truck are the best of friends, and have all sorts of fun together. So what happens when two kids decide they'd rather see a fight than have a party?

REVIEW: This sequel to Shark vs. Train again juxtaposes two unlikely contestants in a battle for supremacy... or, at least, that's what the kids keep hoping happens. Instead, Dragon and Fire Truck get along great - but they're nothing if not crowd pleasers, so they give rivalry a go, with amusing consequences. It's a fun, quick read that manages not to retread the original story.

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Shark vs. Train (Chris Barton) - My Review
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors (Drew Daywalt) - My Review
Dragons Love Tacos (Adam Rubin) - My Review

It Came in the Mail (Ben Clanton)

It Came in the Mail
Ben Clanton
Simon and Schuster
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Humor/Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Young Liam loves the mail... but, often as he checks the mailbox (which is very, very often), there's never anything for him. When he decides to write his own letter, he finally gets his very own mail... more than he knows what to do with!

REVIEW: It's been a while since I managed to read a picture book at work, but today I managed it. It's a fun little story about a boy learning that you can indeed have too much of a good thing... but not one of those where he has to go back to having absolutely nothing to show for his efforts. The art is fun, with numerous visual gags and puns adding to the overall whimsy. I enjoyed it, at least, and not just because the first thing the kindly mailbox sends Liam is a dragon (though of course that's a bonus).

You Might Also Enjoy:
Me and My Dragon (David Biedrzycki) - My Review
The Day the Crayons Quit (Drew Daywalt) - My Review
You Don't Want a Unicorn! (Ame Dyckman) - My Review

Lovabye Dragon (Barbara Joosse)

Lovabye Dragon
The Girl and Dragon Books
Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Randy Cecil
Candlewick
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Picture Book/Poetry
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: A princess, alone in a castle, dreams of a dragon friend, while a dragon, alone in a cave, dreams of a princess...

REVIEW: Another quick picture book read during down time at work... This is a quick, fun, cozy little tale told in lyrical prose and imaginative illustrations. Inevitably, of course, girl and dragon meet, becoming best friends. Not much of a plot, perhaps, but that's not really the point of picture books like this. It's about the flow of words and the idea of making friends with a dragon, an idea that still holds appeal to some of us whose childhood bedtime story days are long behind us.

You Might Also Enjoy:
Me and My Dragon (David Biedrzycki) - My Review
The Knight and the Dragon (Tomie DePaola) - My Review
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend (Dan Santat) - My Review

Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates (Kevin O'Malley and Patrick O'Brien)

Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates
The Captain Raptor series, Book 2
Kevin O'Malley and Patrick O'Brien, illustrations by Patrick O'Brien
Bloomsbury
Fiction, CH Adventure/Picture Book/Sci-Fi
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: When nefarious space pirates strike the planet of Jurassica, the world's president knows just who to call: none other than the legendary Captain Raptor! Aboard the Megatooth, Raptor and his intrepid crew set off in hot pursuit of the enemy - but space is dangerous and the pirates are clever. Is this the end for Captain Raptor?

REVIEW: We had more down time at work today due to mechanical issues (a "gremlin break", as I call it), so I read this to pass the time. Just like the cover and title promise, this is a fun mash-up of genres, like Dinotopia meets Buck Rogers, in a wild space adventure with danger, mystery, and treachery on every page. The illustrations, with a graphic novel's layout and a serial's grandiosity - frequently asking "Is this the end for Captain Raptor?" before a turn of the page reveals his fate -, are detailed and spark the imagination, especially for the target audience: kids with a sense of wonder and fun, who gleefully play with their Jurassic Park toys and Transformers action figures at the same time (not giving a dang whether it's canon or logically plausible, so long as adventure is had, so sit down and shut up, you buzzkill adults poking holes in the game). It made for an enjoyable diversion. (And, no, you don't need to have read the first book to follow it.)

You Might Also Enjoy:
Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time (James Gurney) - My Review
Robots Vs. Princesses Volume 1 (Todd Matthy) - My Review
Quantum Mechanics (Jeff Weigel) - My Review

7 Ate 9 (Tara Lazar)

7 Ate 9: The Untold Story
The Private I series, Book 1
Tara Lazar, illustrations by Ross McDonald
Little, Brown Books
Fiction, CH Humor/Mystery/Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: When rumors spread about 7, that he ate 9, a distraught number 6 turns to the letter detective Private I for help; after all, if 7's gone bad, surely 6 is next in line for the knife (and fork). Both 7 and 9 are conspicuously absent from the city, but does the story add up, or is this case a bad equation?

REVIEW: Most everyone knows the grade school joke ("Why was 6 afraid of 7?" "Because 7 8 9!" - read it out loud if you don't get it), but this "untold story" explores the case in detail, with several number-related puns and jokes along the way. I interviews 8 at the crossing of Second and Fourth streets, and picks up tips at the cafe while eating a slice of pi, before finally cracking the case. It's a clever (for the target audience) nod to private eye tropes.

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The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors (Drew Daywalt) - My Review
E-mergency (Tom Lichtenheld) - My Review
The Sad Little Fact (Jonah Winter) - My Review

A Dignity of Dragons (Jacqueline Ogburn)

A Dignity of Dragons: Collective Nouns for Magical Beasts
Jacqueline Ogburn, illustrations by Nicoletta Ceccoli
HMH Books for Young Readers
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Herds, flocks, and troops may be fine names for groups of mundane animals, but fantastical beasts require fantastical terms.

REVIEW: We had a little down time at work again, so I read this while waiting for things to pick up again. As the title promises, it's an imaginative take on descriptive collective nouns, positing such terms as a "dignity" of dragons, an "amazement" of minotaurs, a "chord" of sirens, and a "resurrection" of phoenix. The whimsical illustrations add a nice touch, with plenty of magical creatures from various cultures on each page, with sparse text to invite lingering over the images. At the end, a glossary adds brief notes about each beast in the book. It makes for a nice, easy introduction to many fantastic creatures and the notion of collective nouns, which are always a fun part of the language. (I will admit, though, that I'm old school enough to consider the definitive term for a group of dragons to be a "flight"...)

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Step Inside Dragons (Gaby Goldsack) - My Review
Tell Me a Dragon (Jackie Morris) - My Review

Nobody Likes a Goblin (Ben Hatke)

Nobody Likes a Goblin
Ben Hatke
First Second
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Goblin lives a quiet cave, where he spends his days tending his pet bats, tidying up the treasure piles, and talking to his best friend, Skeleton. Then the adventurers arrive, swinging swords and flashing spells and terrifying him into hiding under his bed until they leave. They steal everything - even Skeleton! Screwing up his courage, he sets out to rescue his friend... even though he's warned that nobody in the outside world likes a goblin.

REVIEW: We had some down time again at work, so I read this while waiting for things to pick back up. It's a fun little picture book, following brave - if naive - little Goblin through a world that has little use for goblins, but where he finds allies in unexpected places. The illustrations are simple and silly, fitting the story, and it has a good ending.

You Might Also Enjoy:
The Knight and the Dragon (Tomie DePaola) - My Review
Goblin Quest (Jim C. Hines) - My Review
Sir Toby Jingle's Beastly Journey (Wallace Tripp) - My Review

Camp Tiger (Susan Choi)

Camp Tiger
Susan Choi, illustrations by John Rocco
G. P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Fiction, CH Picture Book
***** (Great)

DESCRIPTION: A young boy's family is going on their annual camping trip, deep in the mountains, but he's not looking forward to it like usual. After this weekend, he'll have to start first grade, which means no more playing with blocks and storytelling time like in kindergarten. This year, however, the family finds an unusual visitor at their campsite, who helps the boy come to terms with growing up.

REVIEW: I've been hoping to corner this one at work for a read, and finally got my chance. Unlike many children's books, the whole family is in on the adventure - the tiger talks, and they welcome it into their camping trip as a special guest - but the boy forms a special bond with the big cat. It's never explained where the cat came from or where it's going, though it doesn't really matter. The boy needs a friend right now, and the cat wants some company. The illustrations earned an extra star all on their own, particularly a beautiful sequence when boy and tiger make a starlight visit to the mountain lake. It's a gorgeous book with a nice, solid story.

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Heart of a Tiger (Marsha Diane Arnold) - My Review
Lord of the Forest (Jackie Morris) - My Review
Sir Toby Jingle's Beastly Journey (Wallace Tripp) - My Review

Catwings (Ursula K. Le Guin)

Catwings
A Catwings tale, Book 1
Ursula K. Le Guin, illustrations by S. D. Schindler
Scholastic
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: When her kittens Thelma, Roger, James, and Harriet were born with wings, Mrs. Jane Tabby didn't know what to make of them - until she realizes that they have a chance to escape the dangerous alleys and streets where she lives. They fly away at last to the countryside, hoping to find somewhere safe to live, but the world is a large and perilous place for four little kittens.

REVIEW: I've been doing some tidying and realized I never got around to reviewing this one. It's a fairly simple tale, if with shades of peril around the edges and some nice turns of phrase. The kittens are fun, though they face some problems in finding a home, especially when a local Owl decides that winged cats are too dangerous to have around. The illustrations add a nice, if mild, sense of wonder to the concept of flying kittens. Catwings should be enjoyable for the target audience: young children, and parents reading along with them.

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Catkin (Antonia Barber) - My Review
Lord of the Forest (Jackie Morris) - My Review
Mr. Wuffles! (David Wiesner) - My Review

YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND! (Peter Brown)

YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND! (Starring Lucille Beatrice Bear)
The Lucy series, Book 2
Peter Brown
Little, Brown Books
Fiction, CH Humor/Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Lucille the bear decides to make a new friend today. It shouldn't be hard; the forest is full of animals, after all. Surely one of them will be looking for a friend like her... right?

REVIEW: A sequel to the fun Children Make Terrible Pets sees Lucille try to actually make a friend instead of taking home a "pet." Once again, her enthusiasm hits several stumbling blocks: trying to change herself to be like others doesn't work, but neither does demanding others change. The illustrations are at least half the fun, as Lucille's attempted friendship with a hive of bees goes wrong and she innocently asks an ostrich what it's like to fly, among other mishaps. It's enjoyable, and has a nice, fitting ending.

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Children Make Terrible Pets (Peter Brown) - My Review
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend (Dan Santat) - My Review
You're Finally Here! (Melanie Watt) - My Review

Day Dreamers (Emily Winfield Martin)

Day Dreamers: A Journey of Imagination
Emily Winfield Martin
Random House
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Picture Book/Poetry
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: A dragon chases the clouds... a tide pool spawns a nautical carousel... unicorns race through a tapestry forest... Imagination takes flight, conjuring all manner of beasts and adventures in all manner of places.

REVIEW: With simple verse and lively illustrations, Day Dreamers is a tribute to the powers of imagination. Dragons, a phoenix, a griffin, and more fly or leap or crawl through the pages, taking daydreaming children on grand (yet safe) adventures. If there's any objection to these kinds of stories, it's that my imagination was never so pastel-colored and bubble-wrapped... but this is a picture book, to be read aloud or enjoyed alone, meant to conjure pleasant imagery and encourage imaginary adventuring, and at that it certainly succeeds.

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Ocean Meets Sky (The Fan Brothers) - My Review
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Free Fall (David Wiesner) - My Review

Unicorns 101 (Cale Atkinson)

Unicorns 101
Cale Atkinson
Doubleday
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Humor/Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: If you think a unicorn is just a horse with a horn, you're very much mistaken. Allow the unicorn professors - Professors Glitter Pants, Sprinkle Seed, Star Hoof, and Sugar Beard - to educate you on everything from unicorn evolution and diet to signs of unicorn habitation and the many uses of rainbows.

REVIEW: With lively, colorful illustrations, Unicorns 101 tackles everything one could possibly want to know about unicorns, particularly how awesome they are compared to mundane beings like people or ordinary horses (their scientific name is Betterthan horsicus.) One might suspect the unicorn professors of being a wee bit biased, but it's all in good fun, and got some snickers out of me. Not a word of it is based on actual classical unicorn lore, of course, though that's to be expected: if humans knew anything about unicorns, why would the unicorns need to write their own book?

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A Glory of Unicorns (Bruce Coville, editor) - My Review
You Don't Want a Unicorn! (Ame Dyckman) - My Review
Fairy Foals (Suzanah) - My Review

The Sad Little Fact (Jonah Winter)

The Sad Little Fact
Jonah Winter, illustrations by Pete Oswald
Schwartz and Wade
Fiction, CH Picture Book
****+ (Good/Great)

DESCRIPTION: A little blue fact upsets the mighty Authority, but refuses to call itself a lie.

REVIEW: A truly timely (and, sadly, timeless) picture book examines what happens when facts and power clash. The Authority refuses to acknowledge the little fact, locking it away with all the other facts it wants to ignore, as it manufactures a horde of nasty lies that pass themselves off as the truth... but not everyone is taken in. Simple, bright pictures illustrate the quest for truth and persistence of lies, with an ending that may not be a clear-cut victory, but offers vindication for the little hero. A hopeful book for increasingly hopeless times.

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What Do You Do With a Chance? (Kobi Yamada)

What Do You Do With a Chance?
Kobi Yamada, illustrations by Mae Besom
Compendium Inc
Fiction, CH Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: When a little golden chance approaches a boy, he fears it, and it flies away. What is he to do when another chance happens by?

REVIEW: Like the other two titles in this series (What Do You Do With an Idea? and What Do You Do With a Problem?), this picture book visualizes a mental process and life lesson with imaginative illustrations. Also like the previous two, it follows a now-familiar formula, and thus feels somewhat predictable. Decent for what it is, though by now I know the drill and am a little less enthralled, plus I found the illustrations a trifle less absorbing than before.

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Journey (Aaron Becker) - My Review
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What Do You Do With an Idea? (Kobi Yamada) - My Review

Ocean Meets Sky (The Fan Brothers)

Ocean Meets Sky
Terry Fan and Eric Fan
Simon and Schuster
Fiction, CH Fantasy/Picture Book
****+ (Good/Great)

DESCRIPTION: Today, Finn's grandfather would have been 90 years old, and the boy misses him terribly. The old sailor always talked about a magical place far away across the horizon, where the ocean meets the sky, but of course they never went there. Building a small ship of his own, Finn dreams his way to a sea of wonders.

REVIEW: The story may seem simple, but the images are gorgeously imaginative. It almost could've been a wordless picture book (and is indeed wordless for a few stretches.) Finn and his guide, a familiar-looking great golden fish, visit islands of books and giant shells before taking flight toward the moon, amid a host of wild flying vessels from dirigibles to whales to dragons. One of those picture books that can be revisited just for the sense of wonder.

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Drawn Together (Minh Le) - My Review
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You've Got Dragons (Kathryn Cave)

You've Got Dragons
Kathryn Cave, illustrations by Nick Maland
Peachtree Pub Co Inc.
Fiction, CH Picture Book
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Dragons can happen to anyone, at any time. One day, out of the blue, there they are... and they won't go away on their own. Learn how to manage the dragons in your life.

REVIEW: Work was a bit slow today, so I skimmed this off the top of a tote. At the outset, I admit I almost shaved a half-star from the rating; despite the illustrations featuring numerous dragons, it quickly becomes clear that the "dragons" here are being used as a metaphor for anxiety, fear, or other issues that are hard to tackle in a tangible way, especially for children. (When I pick up a book touting dragons, I want actual dragons, dang it!) The boy Ben worries that having a dragon in his life means he's a bad person, until he finds out anyone can find themselves beset by them, including grown-ups - and everyone has trouble coping with them. Ignoring it doesn't help, and it's hard to talk to others, who often don't listen. In the process, he learns how to deal with his dragon, and helps others deal with theirs, with some bits of humor along the way. I wound up forgiving it its use of dragon as metaphor, because this is a book I can see being useful to kids struggling with fears or other issues - useful in a way that doesn't insist one enthusiastically embrace one's "dragons" as opportunities in disguise, when sometimes it's all one can do to endure their existence. At the very least, it's a way to start a discussion with a child who may be having trouble articulating a worry.

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Dragon (Jody Bergsma) - My Review
The Dragon Machine (Helen Ward) - My Review
What Do You Do With A Problem? (Kobi Yamada) - My Review