When a Dragon Moves In Again

June 22, 2015
Moore and McWilliam return with a follow-up to 2011’s When a Dragon Moves In, as the boy from that book contends with the arrival of a new sibling. Adding insult to injury, the boy’s imaginary red dragon seems to be quite fond of the baby boy, leading to a tantrum and a time-out. McWilliam makes adept use of varied visual perspectives, and his artwork has a sculptural depth and emotional vividness that, when combined with Moore’s second-person narration, will make readers feel like they are right there with this growing family, through all of its messy, noisy, and tender moments. Ages 4–8.

July 15, 2015
In this companion to When a Dragon Moves In (2011), it turns out that castles of any sort, not just sand, attract dragons, so the soon-to-be-born baby's crib, with its crenellations and turrets at the corners, has an occupant even before mom gives birth. The dragon and the boy start off doing their best to entertain the new baby, but their efforts are not always appreciated. The baby's bottles are not toys, and no matter how it makes the baby giggle, mom and dad just don't appreciate their son playing airplane in the house-and they're not buying the boy's explanation that the overturned plant is the dragon's work, not his. The last straw is his father's declaration that "we've had enough of this dragon business." Well, the boy's "had enough of this baby business!" Will the baby get sent back as the boy demands of his parents, or will the boy decide that maybe the baby's not so bad after all? As in the previous title, the big question here is whether or not the dragon is imaginary. Regardless, the dragon is definitely the boy's release-his way of engaging in naughty behavior and then blaming it on the dragon-when it's tough to accept the new changes around the house that come with a baby. McWilliam's pencil and digitally painted illustrations are wonderfully raucous and tongue-in-cheek, and his facial expressions are spot-on. It doesn't matter whether or not they can be seen; there's a little bit of dragon inside each of us. Here's to dragon-taming. (Picture book. 3-8)

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February 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-The fun-loving, jubilant imaginary friend from When a Dragon Moves In (Flashlight, 2011) is back in this stand-alone picture book. The bright red dragon moves in when a young boy and his father build a castle, which in this case is actually a crib with castle detailing. The boy and the dragon joyfully play in it until the rest of the family reminds them that the crib belongs to the soon-to-be-born baby. Making way for the newborn soon becomes the norm for the young protagonist. As he adjusts to his new role in the family, the protagonist experiences the ups and downs of a new baby. Things come to a head when his dragon naps with the infant. The big brother feels displaced and tells his parents, "I've had enough of this baby business! Send him back!" Soon, he goes to check on the dragon and crying baby, whom he manages to settle and accept after all. The colorful pencil and digitally painted cartoon illustrations are expressive and relatable. VERDICT Readers will hope that this dragon keeps coming back.-Laura Hunter, Mount Laurel Library, NJ

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