Review - Roxy the Last Unisaurus Rex

Roxy the Last Unisaurus Rex
by Eva Chen
illustrated by Matthew Rivera
Date: 2020
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Instagram superstar and New York Times bestselling author of Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes Eva Chen embarks on an all-new picture book venture of jurassic proportions, vibrantly brought to life by Matthew Rivera's rainbow watercolors.

Dinosaurs are awesome. Unicorns are, too. So what happens when you combine the best parts of each?

Roxy the Last Unisaurus Rex!

Join Roxy in all her sassy, steak-loving, glittery glory as she learns about the importance of staying true to yourself, celebrating your differences, and finding friends who love you for who you are.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Aside from the colour-popping illustrations and the nice little rundown of various dinosaurs in the back, I'm not sure what this book has going for it. After the initial gimmick of a dinosaur crossed with a unicorn, there's not much else. Roxy has trouble fitting in because she's not like all the other dinosaurs at her school. Apparently, her mom was getting frisky with her food and got pregnant with... wait a minute. It's probably best not to overthink this one. Anyway, Roxy is the only dinosaur-unicorn hybrid... or so she thinks.

I'm not sure what the message is here. It's not quite "be yourself", because that just led to loneliness. It's not "there's a friend out there for everyone", because what are the chances of finding a second creature that shouldn't exist in the first place? Okay, the premise is kind of funny, but it doesn't really go anywhere.

The idea is creative. But it's not quite enough to sustain a whole picture book (at least, not the way it's done here).

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.33 out of 5

Review - The Word for Friend

The Word for Friend
by Aidan Cassie
Date: 2020
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

From author/illustrator Aidan Cassie, the creator of Sterling, Best Dog Ever and Little Juniper Makes It Big!, comes The Word for Friend, an adorable and timely picture book story about ways to welcome, friendship, and overcoming language barriers that will connect classmates and cultures alike.

Kemala the pangolin is sure she's going to make friends at her new school in her new country. After all, Kemala loves to talk. The kids at school like talking, too--but their words are all different. This country speaks a language Kemala doesn't know.

At first, no one understands Kemala either. This realization makes her curl into a little ball, like most pangolins do when they're nervous. But a classmate helps draw her out with an art project that doubles as a vocabulary exchange. Soon, Kemala is learning the most universal language of all: friendship.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Here's yet another delightful offering from Aidan Cassie. Kemala is a pangolin who's just moved to a new country. When she realizes that none of the kids at school speak her language, she clams up and curls into a ball. But an anteater named Ana soon draws her out of her shell, and the two discover that friendship is a language that they can both share.

Adding a smattering of Esperanto, the book also offers a few facts about pangolins. But it's really the story and illustrations that are the real draw here. Like Sterling, Best Dog Ever and Little Juniper Makes It Big!, The Word for Friend features a cast of adorable characters with wonderful facial expressions, and charming settings for them to play in.

I think Cassie has quickly become one of my favourite picture-book authors. Though she's only released three books so far, they're all wonderful. I can't wait to see what's next!

Quotable moment:

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

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.5 out of 5

Review - Unicorns Are the Worst!

Unicorns Are the Worst!
by Alex Willan
Date: 2020
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

Perfect for fans of Dragons Love Tacos and Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great, this wildly funny and imaginative picture book celebrates the value of differences as a grumpy goblin gets to know his new unicorn neighbors.

It’s an undeniable fact that unicorns are the worst!

Magic is serious business, but all unicorns do is frolic around, have tea parties, and leave glitter all over the place! They’re nothing like goblins—practical and hard-working, who can put magic to good use! Unicorns aren’t helpful at all.

Or are they?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

There's not really anything objectively wrong with this. I just didn't find it that exciting. Basically, a jealous goblin explains all the reasons why unicorns are the worst, only to have to eat his words when the unicorns save his bacon from a dragon.

Stereotypes and commercial tropes about unicorns are heavily employed here (down to the glitter... and I have a feeling the print version of this book is very sparkly). These unicorns are basically frivolous horses with horns who like to play harps and have tea parties. If that kind of unicorn is your thing, you might like this one.

I'd probably only recommend this to die-hard unicorn fans. There's not much of a story, and the goblin's whining gets old after the first few pages.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.33 out of 5

Review - Sophie Johnson, Unicorn Expert, Is a Detective Genius

Sophie Johnson, Unicorn Expert, Is a Detective Genius
by Morag Hood
illustrated by Ella Okstad
Date: 2019
Publisher: Aladdin
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Sophie Johnson studied very hard to become a detective and it's a good thing she did – there has been a terrible crime!

Someone has stolen Lion's tail. Unfortunately, this means that Sophie doesn't have time to train her new (and not very good) assistant, Bella.

However, is it possible that, while Sophie is busy rounding up suspects, she doesn't see that Bella may be better than she thinks?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I liked the first Sophie Johnson book much better than this one.

Sophie's still oblivious, and there is a unicorn in here, but... it's mainly a story about her dog, Bella. While Sophie is trying to solve a "crime", Bella has already solved it. And the dog also manages to thwart three burglars at the same time.

I did not like the burglar aspect. Sophie and her baby sibling are at home, seemingly alone, when three men break in. I don't care that they're dressed like elves; it's still creepy (perhaps more creepy because they're dressed like elves)! Rather than doing what a child should do in such a situation (call 911), Sophie is shown being completely oblivious while the men break into the house. Bella catches them, but in an unrealistic way involving banana peels and cookware. I'm not sure what the message is supposed to be here, and making light of a terrifying situation seems a little irresponsible.

The schtick worked in the first book where Sophie was oblivious about the unicorn in her own house. (The same unicorn is here, and she still seems not to have noticed!) But being oblivious about home invaders? That just doesn't work in a children's book.

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

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5

Review - Margaret's Unicorn

Margaret's Unicorn
by Briony May Smith
Date: 2020
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

A perfect gift for the unicorn lovers in your life, this lovely and utterly transporting picture book tells the story of what every little girl wishes would happen to her: a girl finds and takes care of a lost baby unicorn.

Margaret's whole world changes when her family moves to a cottage by the sea to be near her grandma. One evening, Margaret spots a mist over the water. No, that's not mist...clouds maybe? No, they're unicorns descending onto the shore! They vanish as quickly as they'd appeared, but accidentally leave behind a baby, tangled in the weeds. Margaret, lonely and in need of a friend, brings him home and cares for him through the fall and winter. Together, they chase the waves, stomp on frozen puddles, and build snow unicorns. When spring finally comes around, and the other unicorns return, Margaret's takes her small friend back to his family... but these two won't forget one another. And though Margaret misses him, she has made a new friend, and her new cottage is starting to feel like home. With all the feel of a classic, here is a picture book young readers will want to revisit again and again.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is probably the best picture book I've read all year, and the strongest unicorn book I've ever read.

Margaret has just moved with her parents to a small village to be near her grandmother. She's a bit lonely. When her parents suggest she explores, she witnesses a herd of unicorns galloping through the mist. Margaret is surprised to find that a little baby unicorn has been left behind. She takes him under her wing, and the two spend a magical winter together as they wait for spring--and the return of the other unicorns.

The story is simple and sweet, and the illustrations are just gorgeous. Light is used to great effect and highlights the sensory impressions of the changing seasons. The little unicorn is the traditional Scottish kind, with cloven hooves and tasselled tail. The setting of the story, in fact, looks decidedly Scottish, with its hills full of thistles and heather.

This is a definite must-read for unicorn lovers, as well as those looking for stories about magic, friendship, and adapting to a new home.

Quotable moment:

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

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.83 out of 5

Review - The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons
by Natascha Biebow
illustrated by Steven Salerno
Date: 2019
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book non-fiction
Pages: 48
Format: e-book
Source: library

Celebrating the inventor of the Crayola crayon! This picture book biography tells the story of Edwin Binney, the inventor of one of the world's most beloved stationary supplies.

purple mountains’ majesty, mauvelous, jungle green, razzmatazz…

What child doesn't love to hold a crayon in their hands? But children didn't always have such magical boxes of crayons. Here’s the true story of an inventor who so loved nature’s vibrant colors that he found a way to bring the outside world to children – in a box for only a nickel!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

The Crayon Man is the story of how Edwin Binney developed Crayola crayons.

The book is a biography, but moreso for the crayons than for the man. Still, it's an interesting story of an iconic childhood staple. Bright illustrations highlight the informative text. There's an author's note at the end that gives a little more information about Binney, as well as a step-by-step explanation of how Crayola crayons are made today.

Those who enjoy picture-book biographies won't want to miss this one.

Quotable moment:

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

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 4 out of 5

Review - Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood

Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood
by F. Isabel Campoy & Theresa Howell
illustrated by Rafael López
Date: 2016
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book non-fiction
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

What good can a splash of color do in a community of gray? As Mira and her neighbors discover, more than you might ever imagine! Based on the true story of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego, California, Maybe Something Beautiful reveals how art can inspire transformation and how even the smallest artists can accomplish something big. Pick up a paintbrush and join the celebration!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is an interesting picture book based on the true story of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego.

While I appreciate the story and the illustrations (they're vibrant and highly appealing), I'm a bit disappointed in the way this book doesn't address the legality of painting public spaces. Readers might be left with the impression that you can just go around painting walls, utility boxes, and benches wherever you like (when, in many places, you'd need permits... lest you be charged with vandalism). The result may be beautiful, but is it legal?

That said, if parents are willing to sit down and explain these things (and read the authors' note with their kids), this could be a good introduction to urban art. The illustrations are colourful and highlight the contrast between a world with art versus one without.

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

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.33 out of 5