Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS--Frustrated that their underpants always burn up, a cadre of dragons invades the kingdom of Pantasia, kidnaps the king, and demands a ransom of new underpants. The cowardly Sir Y-Front is helpless to save the day. Princess Tilly comes up with a clever plan, which is not revealed to readers for a few pages. It turns out her top-secret scheme is…to pay the ransom. There is a small twist: they'll fork over metal underpants that will last longer than the dragons' fabric ones. Everyone lives happily ever after. Artwork is cute, if unremarkable. Dragons are large and differently colored but are otherwise indistinguishable. One vertical illustration invites readers to turn the book 90 degrees, adding a little bit of print awareness to an otherwise frothy storybook VERDICT Insubstantial but harmless fun for large collections.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Who knew dragons fancied scanties? In days of yore, dragons soar through the skies sporting colorful underpants. Unfortunately, their drawers don't last long due to the dragons' penchant for breathing fire. The Kingdom of Pantasia, ruled by "pants-mad King Top-Bot" (referring to the British term for underpants), is never in short supply of shorts. Storming in to purloin its vast stores, the scaly beasts terrorize the villagers and even beat back the king's knight, Sir Y-Front (referring to another British term). Worse, they make "brief" work of the king, flying off with him and threatening to "scorch him on the rear" unless they receive "piles of pants." Happily, resourceful Princess Tilly has a plan that results in a brilliant solution--"METAL pants!" (Inflammable, don't you know?) The dragons are so overjoyed--"These pants will last FOREVER!"--that they release the king. Afterward, that esteemed royal throws a grand feast, attended by everyone, including the dragons, now wearing their fancy new drawers. Told in rollicking (though uneven) verse, this U.K. import mines some mild laughs from the subject of undies; it might even persuade youngsters who are still in diapers to be fierce like dragons and take that step. Use of the Briticismspants andY-Front might perplex little ones this side of the pond, but the energetic images of the colorful dragons in their oversize, patterned underwear make up for that point. Human characters are diverse. Goofy antics for those who delight in bathroom humor.(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
