Review by New York Times Review
East Side, West Side, all around the town, a little boy searches the streets of New York for his friendly fire-breathing dragon. Drawn in bold, caricature-style pen and ink, Light's illustrations are dizzy with detail, architectural and otherwise, all the better to disguise the dragon, who lurks in every picture. Half the fun is in finding him, but there's also some counting to be done, of water towers, subway cars and other city sights. HOW TO LOSE A LEMUR Written and illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon. 32 pp. Sterling. $14.95. (Picture book; ages 2 to 6) "Everyone knows that once a lemur takes a liking to you, there is not much that can be done about it," Preston-Gannon begins her winning tale of lopsided friendship. Nearby, a lemur with an oddly intent expression offers a flower to a little boy, who regards him warily. Soon that one lemur is joined by a whole troop, and they find ingenious ways to follow the boy across lakes, deserts, mountains - even through the skies. When at last the boy returns home, he's made friends despite himself. STELLA'S STARLINER Written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells. 32 pp. Candlewick. $15.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 6) In the opening spread of this gorgeous, good-hearted book, Wells shows a little fox named Stella standing with a proud smile in front of a shiny Airstream trailer. "It was as silver as a comet in the sky. It was called the Starliner." In Stella's eyes, everything about her home is perfect, until nasty weasels call it a "tin can." But a trailer's indisputable advantage is mobility, so Stella's family take flight through the starry night and park in a sunnier place where new friends see things Stella's way. WINSTON & GEORGE By John Miller. Illustrated by Giuliano Cucco. 56 pp. Enchanted Lion. $17.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) Ever had a friend everyone said you shouldn't trust? Winston, a big, "very very patient" crocodile, puts up with a lot of silly pranks from his pal George, a little crocodile bird, but when one joke goes too far it isn't clear if either will see the light of day again. The intense, saturated colors of Cucco's pen-and-ink pictures look so fresh it's hard to believe they lay forgotten for a half-century, winding up in an attic. Publication brings them - as well as, at last, the mismatched friends - a happy ending. THE ADVENTURES OF BEEKLE The Unimaginary Friend. Written and illustrated by Dan Santat. 40 pp. Little, Brown. $17. (Picture book; ages 3 to 6) How does an imaginary friend feel before he's been imagined? In Santat's sweet, mind-bending gumdrop of a tale, Beekle lives on a rainbow-hued island, "hoping for his turn to be picked by a child." Eventually, like Max in "Where the Wild Things Are," he takes to the seas and soon lands in the real world - which looks a lot like Manhattan. Though this island seems awfully drab, Beekle and his friend find each other at last. She's everything he's ever dreamed of, and the feeling is mutual. ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [April 6, 2014]
Review by Booklist Review
Along a jungle riverbank, pals Winston, a very patient crocodile, and George, a crocodile bird with a penchant for pranks, enjoy time together, including fishing and sharing a meal. But the other crocodiles increasingly find George's tricks annoying like yelling Danger! Danger! merely to startle them and think Winston should just eat him up. Nonetheless, despite George's jokes, devoted Winston can't imagine being without him. Then one prank backfires, bringing real danger, a near-dire outcome, and a daring rescue, but also, for George, new insight into what and who matters most. Published 50 years after its inception, this take on the unlikely-friends story, with echoes of Aesop's The Boy Who Cried Wolf, pairs lively, descriptive text and vivid, enchanting illustrations portraying expressive animals, lush settings, and events with playful touches like George atop Winston's snout, serving as a fish lookout. Overall, a charming tale in story and art, nicely blending humor, drama, and touching moments with an enduring message of the meaning of friendship. Information on crocodiles and crocodile birds and background on the book's creators and intriguing path to publication are appended.--Rosenfeld, Shelle Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Best friends George, a crocodile, and Winston, a crocodile bird, take symbiosis to a new level. Winston perches on George's snout and alerts him whenever he spies a fish; then George dives deep in the water, taking the fish to shore "where they enjoyed many a delicious meal together." Despite their mutual affection, Winston can't resist playing pranks on George and the other crocodiles, such as shouting "Danger!" just to see the reptiles make big splashes in the water. When Winston takes his pranking too far, and George is placed at real risk, it results in a true test of their friendship. Cucco creates a highly appealing jungle landscape of chunky cartoons and vivid color contrasts-Winston is (ironically) safety orange, while lime-green George has a hot pink tongue. As an author's note explains, while Miller and the late Cucco wrote and illustrated their picture books in 1960s Italy before losing touch with each other, this is the first of their works to see publication. Both a throwback and fully modern, it's a charming story of devoted friendship-feathers, scales, and all. Ages 5-8. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Practical jokers, beware! Winston, a patient crocodile, and his flighty friend, a crocodile bird named George, have been companions for a long time. Their symbiotic relationship allows them to work together to find fish and then share the meal. George enjoys playing practical jokes on Winston and his crocodile friends, getting a kick out of fooling the larger animals. The other crocodiles, fed up with George, implore Winston to just eat him and be done with it. But Winston enjoys spending time with his playful pal, so he rejects the suggestion, and the two continue as a team. One day, George's joke goes too far, putting his friend in real danger. Thinking the crocodile bird is up to his old tricks, the other river animals ignore his pleas for help. In order to save Winston, George must offer to make the ultimate sacrifice. Rich, saturated pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations in brilliant blues, lush greens, and deep browns and a bright orange George are a pleasure to peruse. With Aesop's "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" theme, this swampy story, written, illustrated, stored away, and forgotten for 50 years, offers a moral that is true and powerful: no one will believe a liar, even when he's telling the truth.-Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI (c) Copyright 2014. 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
A crocodile and a crocodile bird are the best of friends, although the latter can't resist playing tricks on the former. One life-threatening trick in particular results in a long-overdue comeuppance--and a too-abrupt ending. Twice as wide as it is tall, this big, unusual book is powered by cuteness-free storytelling and full-page art in saturated royal colors. (c) Copyright 2014. 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.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An exploration of the unusual friendship between the crocodile and the crocodile bird. George the bird and Winston the croc spend every day together, fishing the river where they both live. George perches on the end of Winston's nose and peers into the water. When he sees a fish, he shouts "DIVE!" Winston does so and brings up a tasty meal for them both. But George is a prankster. As Winston sleeps in the cooling water, George gives him a big push, and the croc drifts several miles downstream, far from home. When he returns, the other crocodiles mock him and encourage him to "eat up that bird." But the thought of fishing without George makes him too sad to even answer. George fools Winston again, goading him to dive into a big mud bank. The joke goes sour when Winston becomes stuck, and a small herd of hippos is needed to free him. It's time for Winston to teach George a lesson. The amusing tale plays out in energetic watercolor cartoons reminiscent of Tomi Ungerer, laid out in an expansive landscape orientation. The book was first written in the 1960s but remained unpublished until now, and that story is worth the price of admission all by itself. There's also a helpful informative page about real crocodile birds and crocodiles. Cucco's vibrant illustrations, published posthumously, make Miller's simple tale with its valuable message something special. (Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
