I Will Not Eat You

June 27, 2016
As Theodore debates eating the noisy animals that pass by his cave, Magoon (Breathe) delivers laughs using nothing more than the creature’s eyes shifting left and right, all that readers can see of him. Theodore decides against eating the animals, but when a boy with a hobbyhorse and garbage lid shield roars in Theodore’s face, Theodore emerges, a hulking red dragon. The boy is undaunted. He shines his flashlight in Theodore’s eyes and pokes at his snout with his wooden sword. “That’s it!” Theodore snarls. “I will eat you!” Magoon’s bold, angular, digitally rendered drawings capably juggle action, suspense, and comedy. After boy and dragon dash through a patch of flowers and emerge with floral crowns, the boy bursts out laughing. “It’s hard to eat someone when you’re sharing a laugh,” Theodore realizes. By focusing on Theodore’s thoughts and perspective, Lehrhaupt (Chicken in Space) adds unexpected nuance to this David and Goliath story—it’s not clear who’s the aggressor and who’s the victim. What is clear is that size doesn’t matter and laughter trumps fear. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Alexandra Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

July 1, 2016
A cave-dwelling monster named Theodore ponders potential foodstuffs.Two enormous oval eyes peer out of a dark cave's entrance, glowing pink in the sunrise, yellow in the morning light, and teal in the evening light. As various animals--a wolf, a bird, and a tiger--pass in front, Theodore considers eating each one but decides he's not that hungry and utters the titular refrain: "I will not eat you." A small white boy dressed in a blue hoodie and mud-splashed galoshes and wielding a metal trashcan-lid shield trots up to the cave on a hobbyhorse. He shines his flashlight into the cave and roars a great roar at Theodore. "Seriously?" thinks Theodore. "I should eat it." Thus begins an epic battle between a pretend knight and what readers finally see to be a massive, horned, bearded red dragon. As Lehrhaupt spins this tale with deadpan humor, readers never fear for the boy. Magoon's exuberant art recalls classic characters, most particularly Max in his wolf suit. The digital illustrations emulate mixed-media images: some leaves resemble block prints, and short, thin, penlike highlights enliven the animals' fur. The text is hand-lettered. As the action escalates, Theodore becomes festooned with flowers that reflect the bright yellow glow of the flashlight's beam. The palette, though dark, is never menacing. Fanciful pretend play for the dragon-slaying preschooler. (Picture book. 3-6)

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November 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 1-Theodore hides in his solitary cave, pondering several possible meals, but lacks the appetite to eat the bird, the goat, or the tiger. However, when a boy dressed as a knight gallops up to his cave and proceeds to poke at Theodore with his sword, he decides he definitely should eat the child. Then something unexpected happens. The boy falls down and starts to laugh, which makes Theodore begin to laugh as well. It's hard to eat someone when you're sharing a laugh. Soon his cave is quiet because Theodore is out playing with his new friend...but maybe he'll eat him later. The full-bleed illustrations are saturated with rich, dark colors but manage never to be scary. With several humorous twists, lots of imaginative play, and illustrations reminiscent of Maurice Sendak's in Where the Wild Things Are, this is a surefire read-aloud hit. VERDICT Highly recommended for storytime and one-on one sharing.-Jessica Marie, Salem Public Library, OR

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