Picture This: Again!

Again! by Emily Gravett

Little dragon likes to have a bedtime story... again... and again...and again.

Emily Gravett strikes again (no pun intended!) with a funny, unique little gem. One of the great things about this book is that it's two stories that collide. Little Dragon's storybook begins, "Cedric the dragon's a bright angry red. He's never, his whole life, (not once) been to bed." He torments princesses and trolls. But each time Mama Dragon picks up the book to reread it (satisfying her child's requests/demands), the story changes ever so slightly. Cedric apologizes to the trolls, becomes more peaceful, and even decides it's time for bed. As his temper cools, his red color gradually fades to green. Meanwhile, Little Dragon, frustrated with his sleepy mother, starts to turn red. His anger escalates into full scale tantrum when his mother finally succumbs to sleep. He shouts and stomps and shakes and fumes...to disastrous (and funny) results. I love the facial expressions--the sleeping mama dragon reminds me of my aging parents, while the little dragon goes from sweet and imploring to angry and demanding.

So in this book, you have: expressive, appealing illustrations; nice illustrations; a relatable storyline with intertwined themes (a child asking for his favorite story over and over, losing your temper, sleep deprivation's effect on temper); endpages that start and end the story (every single page has some element of the story on it--even the bookflap is part of the story!!!); details, details details (Cedric, the trolls, the princess, and even the dragon in the letter C are always part of the story); humor, good rhyming and rhythm, big time kid appeal. I highly recommend this one.

Things to notice: princess's "I"m not having it" attitude, poor crying trolls, red dragon print sheets, and that adorable eager reading face on the little dragon.
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