Dragon Pick: Roar-Choo!

 

Roar-Choo!

by Charlotte Cheng

Illustrations by Dan Santat

Rocky Pond Books 

An imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC 

40 pages 

2024

ISBN: 9780593531754

Never has a dragon been more glorious, gorgeous, awesome, but imperfect! Roar-Choo! celebrates the power of the dragon and the beauty and kindness of the phoenix in this rambunctious tale of a dragon who tries to ROAR, but ends up sneezing and a phoenix who helps the dragon slow down, take a breath, sip some hot tea and take a nap. You see, even dragons need rest, especially when they are sick. 

Sweet Phoenix offers hot tea, bone broth and a nice nap. Dragon believes they must live up to to their hype: a dragon must be loud, a dragon must be strong, a dragon must be scary, a dragon must roar! Phoenix helps Dragon understand that even at their best, even a powerful dragon should learn to take breaks and rest. The friendship and the shared nap at the end is sweet. 

The note at the end about the dragon and the phoenix in Chinese mythology helps young readers understand what the two characters stand for. May everyone find their phoenix and their dragon. 

Art by Dan Santat is inspirational: Dragon is captured and brought to life, practically jumping off the pages and breathing fire. This is one dragon readers won't forget. Roar-Choo! MUST be read out loud with the loud roar-choos! and using two character voices. This book is likely to be a nighttime must before bed. 

Highly recommended and likely to win several awards this year. 

Graphic Pick: Nancy Spector Monster Detective

 

Nancy Spector Monster Detective: The Case of the Missing Spot

by Stephen W. Martin

Illustrated by Linh Pham

Algonquin Young Readers

an imprint of Workman Publishing 

Hachette Book Group, Inc. 

2024

208 pages

ISBN: 9781643750651

A fun graphic mystery adventure with a tenacious protagonist who happens to be the greatest girl detective, Nancy Spector Monster Detective is a gem. 

The invisible man has lost his dog Spot, so he turns to Nancy for help in finding him. There is just one problem that will complicate this case: Spot is also invisible. Nancy is a great detective and she knows detectives never give up. She goes on a mission with her grumpy dog Jinx (who is comic relief to Nancy's serious nature) is against the mission from the onset. The professor (the invisible man) tags along.

Nancy searches the professor's house and Spot's invisible dog house for clues, taking notes. Soon the trio sets off following Spot's scent. Jinx begins sneezing and Nancy figures he may be allergic to Spot's invisible fur. The more Jinx sneezes, the closer they are to their quarry. 

A fun map of Nancy's island features Frankenstein Monster's monster's castle, ice horns, deadly whirlpools and a pirate cove. What reader can resist a cartoon map? Illustrations by Pham are energy-charged and will appeal to an reader who loves superhero comics. 

Nancy Spector Monster Detective is fun frolic full of whimsy and creativity. Recommended for graphic novel readers, mystery lovers, comic book lovers and perfect for reluctant readers. Grades 4 and up. 

Non-Fiction Pick: Unknown New York

 

Unknown New York: An Artist Uncovers the City's Hidden Treasures

by Jesse Richards

Art by the author/artist

Workman Publishing

A division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. 

2024

240 pages

Publication Date: September 10, 2024

Jesse Richards discovers Manhattan and becomes a New York aficionado, exploring interesting places on her weekend walks. Always an artist at heart, she starts an art group to sketch in Central Park. As her group grew, she began to look for new places to sketch and found that many members kept returning because of the new locations she found. The group grew to over 8,000 member and  Richards found that she loved to delve into the history of the places she found.

In chapters like "Hidden New York," she includes The Daily News Building with its rich history and iconic placement in the Superman films of the 70s and 80s as The Daily Planet where Clark Kent meets Lois Lane. She includes the facades of buildings like the Cable Building and the Roosevelt Building and the Shinran Shonin Statue which was gifted to New York in 1955 by a Japanese industrialist. The statue has red burns marks on it from the atomic bomb at Hiroshima in 1945.

The art and historical details give rich descriptions of each choice in the book. Anyone going to New York should take notes from this gem of a book. Even New Yorkers will discover places they've never heard about or visited. 

An interesting tidbit is there are still buildings in New York that use mail chutes: over nine hundred, in fact. A pneumatic tube system connected all of Manhatten across the Brooklyn Bridge and all of Brooklyn. It was too expensive to run and by 1953, the city began using cars and carriers to move the mail. 

Other chapters include Humble Parks, On the Street, Central Park and Excursions. A section at the back of the book includes walks were you can see all the places mentioned in the text. For the seasoned adventurer or new New Yorker, Hidden New York is a treasure trove of information and unlikely places to visit. 

Highly recommended for anyone planning to visit or live in New York and those who love to read about travel and history.