Again!

Emily Gravett

Macmillan

9780230745360

October 2011

24 pp

Whole book read

Read On? n/a

Emily Gravett is already a two-times winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal. Her new picture book is another class act. The book-within-a-book tells the tale – in splendidly executed, easy to read aloud rhyme – of Cedric the Dragon, whose end of day refrain is “Tomorrow I’ll do it all over again.” The young dragon who is being read to by parent dragon also shouts “Again” on every alternate double spread. But in his case it is the storybook he wants to hear again.
In a clever twist at the end, dragon fire burns a big hole in the final page and right through the back cover of the book. The fly-leaf carries the message DO NOT BLOCK FIRE EXIT.
I like the way the jacket designers have continued to play the game and aid suspension of disbelief by making this “fire exit” obscure a big chunk of the back page blurb. One thing is for sure, young children will want to share this book Again and Again even if it’s just to poke their fingers through that hole.

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