Book Reviews: The Discovery of Dragons, Base; A Child of Books, Jeffers; The Night Gardener, Fan

[juushika]

And some not so spooky picture books that, accidentally or intentionally, ended up in this binge.


Title: The Discovery of Dragons
Author: Graeme Base
Published: Harry N. Abrams, 1996
Rating: 1.5 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 539,955
Text Number: 1988
Read Because: this was on someone's formative books list when formative book list quizzes were a fad, also maybe I read it as a kid?; borrowed from Open Library
Review: It takes a lot for me to DNF a picture book, but at the halfway point I gave up and just scanned the dragon drawings. I appreciate their non-traditional designs and the detailed art. I dig the narrative conceit, too, the collected and edited letters of the people who discovered these dragons; I'm a sucker for bestiaries and speculative evolution. But: incredibly strained, vaguely dated, this is trying so hard to be funny without success, and it crowds out the more interesting dragons.


Title: A Child of Books
Author: Oliver Jeffers
Illustrator: Sam Winston
Published: Candlewick Press, 2016
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 539,995
Text Number: 1989
Read Because: reading more by the author because I liked There’s a Ghost in This House; hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: I read a lot; I still find books about the magic of books tedious. But because this is an invitation into the space of reading, it actually has a sense of wonder instead of being as smug and preachy as the subject matter often is. And that space is literal, landscapes rendered from suitable quotations from public domain children's literature. But I'm curious if that works for kids: the tiny font; the longer, older texts making an appearance in a picture book. This feels like another one secretly written for adults.


Title: The Night Gardener
Author: Terry Fan
Illustrator: Eric Fan
Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 50
Total Page Count: 540,045
Text Number: 1990
Read Because: this one was on a spooky list somewhere but I'd disagree; hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: I'm generally adverse to stories about "everything was monochrome and boring here until someone introduced Whimsy" because they misrepresent how communities both make and repress joy, but this one is more actively an invitation into creative work: whimsy as intent and effort, but without misanthropy or superiority, and consequently a lot less irritating! But in the unavoidable shadow of Edward Scissorhands it can't but lack a little vibrancy, wonder, and well, whimsy, even if the topiary illustrations are a lot of fun.

Comments

[minutia_r]

Ah, it might have been my list of books that you found The Discovery of Dragons on. I can't actually disagree with you that the text is not as funny as it thinks it is/is trying to be, but a) I probably encountered it at the right age and b) I mostly love it for the gorgeous illustrations.

[juushika]

I think it was your list, yeah. Despite my complaining, I'm not mad about it. I love bestiary-style books, so I was due to pick this up eventually, and it's beautiful! I could totally see latching onto it, especially if I encountered it at an age where I skimmed over narrative (or retained the premise but not the humor) for the sake of the art.