Dan Richards (2)

A young boy, visiting the zoo with his mother, wonders if one balloon can make an elephant fly in this new picture-book offering from author Dan Richards and illustrator Jeff Newman. His mother, thinking that he is referring to a real elephant, tells him it can't. Then she realizes (or thinks she does) that he is referring to his toy elephant, and takes a different tack. This continues as they pass and discuss the other zoo residents...

Can One Balloon Make an Elephant Fly? offers an show more interesting look at perspective, depicting a mother-son conversation in which each is really referring to a different reality, despite seemingly talking about the same thing. The mother, roused from her cell-phone perusal, thinks that she realizes what her son means, and, attempting to join him in his game, begins attaching balloons to the (toy) animals he mentions. He, in the meantime, is very much in earnest, referring to real animals, and attaching balloons to them in turn. Each remains oblivious, despite the connection of their conversation, to the reality the other is referencing. There is a dry humor here that has appeal, although I wouldn't describe this as a 'funny' book. I appreciated the artwork, done in charcoal and crayon, as much as the text, and liked that the mother and son are depicted as African-American, without this being in any way the focus of the story. This is a story about perspective, about converging and diverging realities, that just happens to have an African-American cast. Recommended to anyone looking for fun stories for younger children. show less

A first playdate with two very different girls with two different versions of the same doll - princess and secret agent - told entirely in dialogue, shows how two imaginations can make a new story together. A little brother's appearance with "Cyborg Penelope" is the perfect ending (or opening for a sequel).

A king and queen, childless but longing to start a family, ask their Fairy Godmother for help, assuring her that "any kid" will do. When a little goat shows up on their doorstep, they are at first disconcerted, even going so far as to kick the creature out, when it eats the queen's roses. Eventually though, the royal couple comes to value this caprine child. Then the Fairy Godmother turns up again, and it turns out that a mistake was made - the human child was placed with the goats! Is it show more too late to set things right...?

A sweet original fairy-tale, one whose central story-line rests on the multiple meanings of the word "kid," Once Upon a Goat pairs a lighthearted and amusing story from author Dan Richards with cute artwork from illustrator Eric Barclay. The silly sense of humor hear is sure to please young listeners who enjoy a bit of the absurd, while the fairy-tale structure will draw in children who also enjoy more traditional stories in this vein. After all, there are any number of traditional fairy-tales that feature children even more unusual than this! show less

"A bunny can only take so much." Unibrowed Nubby is a stuffed bunny, and he has HAD IT. He goes adventuring (carried off by the family dog), meets a real rabbit, is part of a magic show, and has his stuffing torn out (the pain "went all the way to the very fabric of his soul"). When he realizes where he truly belongs, his boy's older brother finds him and zooms him home on his bike. Home is where the heart is, after all.

A few little echoes of The Velveteen Rabbit, but very much its own show more thing, and a unique perspective. show less