Review - Liza Jane & the Dragon

Liza Jane & the Dragon
by Laura Lippman
illustrated by Kate Samworth
Date: 2018
Publisher: Akashic Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Liza Jane believed she could find better parents. So she fired her mom and dad and hired the first applicant who came to the door—what could possibly go wrong?

And at first everything was fun. The dragon did whatever Liza Jane wanted him to do.

But it turned out the dragon had only one response to all problems—opening his mouth and belching fire. Suddenly, people were scared of Liza Jane. The pizza deliveryman didn’t want to come to her house. No one wanted to play with her. And all that fire was very bad for the furniture.

Could Liza Jane have been wrong about what kind of qualities she wanted in a parent?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I didn't realize it until I saw someone mention it in their review, but the more I think about it... yeah. This is a book about Trump's presidency. (Viewing it this way also makes the dragon's blond coif make more sense!)

Liza Jane has a good life. Her parents tell her so every day. But Liza Jane's experience isn't what they keep telling her it is. They don't listen to her, they interrupt her, and they don't seem to care about her feelings. So she fires them and puts up ads for a new mom and dad. No experience necessary! (Can you see the Trump parallels yet?) A dragon answers the ad, claiming he can do both jobs. So Liza Jane hires him... and the trouble begins. Every time something goes wrong and Liza Jane gets upset, the dragon sets something on fire. When the pizza delivery guy gets the order wrong, the dragon torches his car. When the lady at the front desk of the school gives Liza Jane a hard time for being late (which was not her fault; the dragon was having a hard time brushing her hair), the dragon sets fire to the desk. Soon, Liza Jane is eating nothing but pizza, her teachers are afraid to give her bad grades (for fear of the dragon), and nobody wants to play with her. Liza Jane suggests that maybe he could be a little nicer, but he excuses his fiery bad behaviour with the same excuse: "Hey, I'm a dragon." So Liza Jane fires him and puts out a new ad... this time asking for parents with experience. Guess who answers.

As a story about being careful what you wish for, it works... although I didn't really care for the parents' behaviour in the beginning. It seemed almost like gaslighting, the way they constantly told Liza Jane how lucky she was (while treating her the way they did; is it not hypocritical for parents to demand the respectful behaviours that they themselves aren't bothering with?). But the plot is also a little absurd, with the parents just taking off after Liza Jane fires them and the dragon taking over. I wasn't too impressed the first time I read it... but after learning it was possibly about Trump, I liked it a little better. The parallels are all there: The government tells everybody they have the best country and they're lucky to be Americans. USA! USA! USA! But the people don't really believe it. They think nobody is listening to them, so they hire someone with absolutely no experience just because he says the right things. But then this person damages nearly everything he comes into contact with. I don't know if the metaphor could be much clearer!

That said, I didn't love this. The illustrations are just okay (although, I do like the selective use of colour to highlight the things that are important to Liza Jane) and the narrative is pretty basic. But if you're looking for a somewhat subversive picture book that ties into current events, you might want to take a look. (Also check out A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss. It's an absolutely adorable picture book about Mike Pence's grand-bunny that looks at the Trump presidency through a lens of tolerance and inclusion.)

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.17 out of 5