.
Because Dragons Love Milk
by Marie Chow
Miki Tharp, illustrator
978-1-49541484-8
Age 3 to 7 28 pages
.
Opening
“They were halfway through dinner when Tycho announced, “I don’t want to go to bed tonight!”
The Story
Tycho does not want to go to sleep because there are dragons under his bed. Dad lets his son in on a secret. Dragons love milk. He explains that milk soothes a dragon’s fiery throats. If a dragon’ throat is soothed it becomes a happy dragon. Tycho is happy about the dragon but wants to know about the alligator. Dad had an alligator under his bed and it liked old shoes. Because alligator do not floss, their gums always hurt. Chewing on an old shoe helps sooth an alligator’s gums.
Review
Because Dragons Love Milk will entertain any young boy who has ever had a dragon, an alligator, or a T-rex under his bed. It is refreshing to read a story about a young boy and his dad. At least two of a boy’s favorite animals are under Tycho’s bed (dragon and T-rex). The way dad breaks down his son’s fears is imaginative and adorable. The three terrifying animals become less threatening when they are fond of milk, stories, and old, stinky shoes.
The illustrations need detail to define one object from another. I see blocks of color, some of which fade or blend into the next. A color picture book needs to have lots of color, and details help. Give the child something to look at. If he cannot yet read, the only way to hold his visual attention is through details. A few toys, pictures on the walls, a window, any of this would have improved the boy’s room. Monsters get restless when there is nothing to play with in a room. The other problem is the lack of a credit page/copyright page. Every book must have certain pages and this is one of them.
Spreads are lighter in finished paperback book.
Kids will love the story. They will enjoy the odd things each “monster” needs and the reason they need them. Suspending belief is easy thanks to the author’s pen. She writes sentences that flow into one another, making them easy to read, and easy for a young child to understand. This is a nice debut story. I wish it were longer just so I can read more of the author’s imagination. Because Love Milk would be the perfect story to read right before a kindergarten classroom nap. A good choice for boys and dads.
.
Learn more about Because Dragons Love Milk HERE!
Buy your own copy of Because Dragons Love Milk at Amazon—your local bookstore.
.
Author Marie Chow’s website. http://mariechow.com/
Illustrator Miki Tharp’s website. http://mikitharp.com/
.
BECAUSE DRAGONS LOVE MILK. Text copyright © 213 by Marie Chow. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Miki Tharp. Reproduced by permission of the author, Mare Chow.
.
.
Filed under:
4stars,
Books for Boys,
Children's Books,
Debut Author,
Library Donated Books,
Picture Book Tagged:
alligators,
children's book reviews,
dragons,
Marie Chow,
Miki Tharp,
picture book,
T-Rex 
While most of the east coast is snowed under today, I spent a glorious day with my husband hiking in the Everglades. Check out these photos!
All photos © copyrighted by Debbie Glade. Photos may not be copied or used without permission.
I’ve been working on a flamingo vs. alligator image for my portfolio, and a crop from that image seemed like a perfect fit for the Illustration Friday topic, “heights,” this week. The full image has more alligators, but still only one flamingo!
The flamingo has to jump great heights to avoid being eaten by the alligator.
The frog blends in with the grass, so if he jumps low, he’ll be safe too.
This image was done in CMYK mode, where surprisingly, the colors are much brighter. It prints with nice bright colors too. Usually colors dull when I switch from RGB to CMYK, not the other way around.
Dat Loretta and Rango was no regular gators
Why dem swamp dogs was known from da bayou to Decatur
Dey dance da Lambada, da Salsa, an Tango…
But dey pack the house when dey dance
ZY-DEE-CO!
Never dare was a team dats mo betta
Den two steppen Rango and his sweet boo Loretta!
Fo True!!!
By Roberta Baird
www.robertabaird.com
I seem to have a theme going on here… if it isn’t dancing, it’s gators….. so why not dancing gators!
Happy Friday!
Mo Willems has a new picture book, HOORAY FOR AMANDA & HER ALLIGATOR!, on-sale next week on Tuesday, April 26th. When we saw this video trailer, we just couldn’t resist sharing it with you a little early. Take a look:
Hooray!
I am back from a vacation on Oak Island, North Carolina, with my wife, Marilyn. We had a great time, even though it was colder than usual. We took lots of sunset shots. The one at the top was probably our best photo of all of them. Once you step out of your comfort zone (as in your recliner or rocker), all sorts of wonderful and strange things can happen. Like what?
I attended a book signing where an author, Marianne Smith, shared some of her thoughts on “coming of age” during the Hitler Regime…At the local golf course I met up with a good number of mud turtles and three or four alligators that were about four feet in length. My golf balls seem to be attracted to ponds and sand traps. I visit them frequently. There were no warnings posted about alligators being loose on the course. Of course, the alligators were only interested in sunning themselves, not tasting a northerner…On the way home, we saw what looked like a collapsed tan box on the middle of the highway. As we came closer and closer to this brown miniature pyramid, we suddenly realized that it was a large deer sitting in the sun. I thought it was dead. It wasn’t moving. I couldn’t look at its face. As soon as we passed it, Marilyn screamed, “It’s alive!” I guess it was on Prozac because I never saw it move in my rearview mirror…I played 15 games of golf on four different courses…I ate more fish than usual. I think that I have developed a few scales on my legs…We made new friends, Phyllis and George, who live fulltime across from the beach house we rented. They became our tour guides for Oak Island and beyond. They taught us about photography, golf, and friendship…While we were down there, we had a snowstorm. I have photos of the snowstorm… “Excuse me, I am not fibbing!” Photos can be seen here: http://www.consideration.org/sottile/photos/2010mar/last-seen.html
More than flowers at the local nursery.
Here's the May installment in my quest to list 2007 Children's Picture Books by Black authors or illustrators. Ok - so far was only able to locate one title.
When Gorilla Goes Walking by Nikki Grimes, Shane Evans (illustrator) Pub. Orchard Books Cecilia, her cat Gorilla and poetry!If you have a moment, visit the websites of Nikki Grimes and Shane Evans.
Next up in my quest to list 2007 Children's Picture Books by African American authors or illustrators - books released in April 2007: Ain't Nobody a Stranger to Me by Ann Grialconi, Jerry Pinkney (illustrator). Pub. Jump At The Sun.
Cherish Today: A Celebration of Life's Moments by Kristina Evans, Bryan Collier (illustrator). Pub. Jump At The Sun
Here's the next post in my quest to list 2007 Children's Picture Books by African American authors or illustrators.
African American Picture Books - Black Authors or Illustrators - March 2007 release
The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington, Shelley Jackson (illustrator). Pub - Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Sweet Land of Liberty by Deborah Hopkinson, Leonard Jenkins (
Fun!
Whoa! That’s quite a match-up! Hope they get away! Love the action in this piece and the fun background!
I’m rooting for that flamingo! The frog too.
very nice!
Flap your wings and Fly – Flamingo. Hope flamingo and frog makes it safe.
Brought to mind the Woody Allen line, “When the lion lays down with the lamb, the lamb doesn’t feel too good.” Could say this about the flamingo crossing the alligator’s path.
Thanks everyone!!! I haven’t drawn a second image in the series, but I’m pretty sure the flamingo gets away
Mirka – I love that Woody Allen line. Thanks for sharing!