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dragonbitebooks's reviews
1040 reviews
The Last Dragon by Silvana De Mari
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
I Was an Alien Fashion Model by Ivy Hamid
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Review originally published on my website, DragonBiteBooks.com
This one surprised me. I took a chance on a free digital download and found a charming, imaginative, heartfelt book about body positivity and the mental strain put on individuals by a fashion industry pushing impossible beauty standards—made even more unachievable by photo and video editing—and standards that are detrimental to the health of their models and those who want to look like them.
Hiding from bullies, Kat Habib, overweight by the current standards of American fashion, is accidentally teleported onto an alien ship with the contents of a not-inclusive clothing store’s back room. There she inspires a fashion designer and a ship of aliens from different species who all compliment her beauty and her full, rounded figure. With days until an important show that could make or break the fashion house, Madam Xanis scraps her original line to create a new line inspired by Kat’s beauty and the pleated blue tunic and capris that she is wearing when she is teleported aboard the ship.
Eager for a reason to skip a mandatory school event and its terrible, unflattering uniform, Kat agrees to stay with the ship as the muse for the new collection. She becomes friends with the aliens aboard and invested in the survival of the fashion brand and her new friends’ careers and lives. But the more she is exposed to the demands of the fashion industry of the galaxy, the more she finds it exploitative and exclusionary, favoring impossible, over-the-top designs meant to flatter a single species, to which the entirety of the galaxy aspires, despite their varied anatomies. As the industry bigshots turn against Madam Xanis and her team, the line and their part in the competition become about more than winning, more even than presenting a trendsetting style or the survival of the company—it becomes about normalizing and idealizing diversity and clothes meant to fit each individual instead of a single aesthetic based on the anatomy of a single species.
Made an influencer overnight on the galaxy’s version of Instagram, Kat challenges the norms by posting her unedited photos and photos that include those whom the fashion industry has deemed ugly—a clear and inimitable example of rebellion that young readers can follow.
The galaxy around the story is well-developed, interesting, and unique. The fashion competition honors a deceased designer, who has been or almost been deified by her species (Madam Xanis’ and the species that sets fashions for the galaxy) and by the galaxy. There are creative technologies that allow for interspecies interaction and the visitation of different species to others’ homeworlds. There are companies and corporations with their own hierarchies and motives. There is a system of laws that seems to reflect the Star Trek’s Prime Directive. Earth is a “banned planet,” a “Pre-Spacefaring Civilization,” deemed not ready for interaction with other species, a ban enforced by the Galactic Traffic Alliance. There is a class system that reminds me a touch of Firefly’s with the Outer Rim planets being mainly low and working class and rarely interacted with by the other planets despite ships’ making speedy travel accessible; Kat pretends to be from a mining ship in the Outer Rim, her new friends trusting in the galaxy’s lack of awareness about that region to hide her species—and—SPOILERS AHEAD—this works! Kat is never called out as being from a banned planet.
The characters aboard Madam Xanis’ ship are likable and three-dimensional—Kat especially—but during the fashion competition itself, I found it very difficult to keep track of the other players and their fashion lines. Two besides Xanis felt like characters with personalities; the other four I found fairly interchangeable. I had to do some searches in my e-book and bookmark their walks on the runway to follow the evaluations of the judges later and pair those evaluations to the outfits and to the designers—because I did choose a favorite on the runway, and I wanted to know how that designer—not just how Xanis—faired in the competition.
The story’s ending is not a fairy tale with lessons learned and taken to heart by all but rather a new path forward for the fashion house, a restructuring of their company around diversity and a new alliance and mission. Though the story wraps up well, Hamid has left herself open to exciting sequels and a return of the diverse and forward-thinking cast.
While diversity, equity, and inclusion policies are being threatened and eliminated by those companies and organizations that marginalized communities had come to view as allies, this is a fun story to challenge those against such programs.
This one surprised me. I took a chance on a free digital download and found a charming, imaginative, heartfelt book about body positivity and the mental strain put on individuals by a fashion industry pushing impossible beauty standards—made even more unachievable by photo and video editing—and standards that are detrimental to the health of their models and those who want to look like them.
Hiding from bullies, Kat Habib, overweight by the current standards of American fashion, is accidentally teleported onto an alien ship with the contents of a not-inclusive clothing store’s back room. There she inspires a fashion designer and a ship of aliens from different species who all compliment her beauty and her full, rounded figure. With days until an important show that could make or break the fashion house, Madam Xanis scraps her original line to create a new line inspired by Kat’s beauty and the pleated blue tunic and capris that she is wearing when she is teleported aboard the ship.
Eager for a reason to skip a mandatory school event and its terrible, unflattering uniform, Kat agrees to stay with the ship as the muse for the new collection. She becomes friends with the aliens aboard and invested in the survival of the fashion brand and her new friends’ careers and lives. But the more she is exposed to the demands of the fashion industry of the galaxy, the more she finds it exploitative and exclusionary, favoring impossible, over-the-top designs meant to flatter a single species, to which the entirety of the galaxy aspires, despite their varied anatomies. As the industry bigshots turn against Madam Xanis and her team, the line and their part in the competition become about more than winning, more even than presenting a trendsetting style or the survival of the company—it becomes about normalizing and idealizing diversity and clothes meant to fit each individual instead of a single aesthetic based on the anatomy of a single species.
Made an influencer overnight on the galaxy’s version of Instagram, Kat challenges the norms by posting her unedited photos and photos that include those whom the fashion industry has deemed ugly—a clear and inimitable example of rebellion that young readers can follow.
The galaxy around the story is well-developed, interesting, and unique. The fashion competition honors a deceased designer, who has been or almost been deified by her species (Madam Xanis’ and the species that sets fashions for the galaxy) and by the galaxy. There are creative technologies that allow for interspecies interaction and the visitation of different species to others’ homeworlds. There are companies and corporations with their own hierarchies and motives. There is a system of laws that seems to reflect the Star Trek’s Prime Directive. Earth is a “banned planet,” a “Pre-Spacefaring Civilization,” deemed not ready for interaction with other species, a ban enforced by the Galactic Traffic Alliance. There is a class system that reminds me a touch of Firefly’s with the Outer Rim planets being mainly low and working class and rarely interacted with by the other planets despite ships’ making speedy travel accessible; Kat pretends to be from a mining ship in the Outer Rim, her new friends trusting in the galaxy’s lack of awareness about that region to hide her species—and—SPOILERS AHEAD—this works! Kat is never called out as being from a banned planet.
The characters aboard Madam Xanis’ ship are likable and three-dimensional—Kat especially—but during the fashion competition itself, I found it very difficult to keep track of the other players and their fashion lines. Two besides Xanis felt like characters with personalities; the other four I found fairly interchangeable. I had to do some searches in my e-book and bookmark their walks on the runway to follow the evaluations of the judges later and pair those evaluations to the outfits and to the designers—because I did choose a favorite on the runway, and I wanted to know how that designer—not just how Xanis—faired in the competition.
The story’s ending is not a fairy tale with lessons learned and taken to heart by all but rather a new path forward for the fashion house, a restructuring of their company around diversity and a new alliance and mission. Though the story wraps up well, Hamid has left herself open to exciting sequels and a return of the diverse and forward-thinking cast.
While diversity, equity, and inclusion policies are being threatened and eliminated by those companies and organizations that marginalized communities had come to view as allies, this is a fun story to challenge those against such programs.
Arctic Bears Chase by Steve Fiffer, Steve Fiffer
3.0
I won a copy of Arctic Bears Chase on Goodreads. This being my first, quite unexpected, and unlooked for prize, I may be disposed to view Arctic Bears Chase a little less impartially than I have some of the other books that I’ve reviewed here.
Arctic Bears Chase is a book consisting of a single, alphabetically building sentence with corresponding illustrations. The concept intrigued me, and so I entered my name for the drawing.
Intriguing though I still find the concept, I feel as if it might have been executed with more finesse, while recognizing how difficult such a book, such a sentence is to craft, particularly while making it appropriate for the young target audience.
In 10 minutes or less, I dashed off a sentence using the same concept, but mine included words too lofty for a toddler audience, perhaps even more grammatical awkwardness, and would have been much harder to illustrate (I ended up with 11 adjectives and four nouns describing rain). I like the rhythm of the noun participle pairings that Arctic Bears Chase uses, but would otherwise have wanted more variation in structure.
What really rubs me about this book is how quickly the novelty of the nonsensical wears off and how quickly the illustrations cease building into a full story but instead dissolve into creative drawings that do not connect to one another except by the inclusion of the previous character. Arctic bears disappeared from the illustrations by the letter ‘I,’ and the illustrations ceased to build coherently after ‘F,’ when the frog is suddenly no longer in the tree.
I am 23. I am not the intended audience for this book nor have I been able yet to interact with a child who is the target age to watch his reaction. Perhaps a toddler would be more able to enjoy the rhythm and nonsense of the story.
Before signing off, I do want to warn that I know I can be a harsh judge of children’s literature.
Thanks, Mr. Fiffer and Miss Roberts for the book! I will try and get it read by younger children who cross my path and flip through it myself too when I need a laugh.
Arctic Bears Chase is a book consisting of a single, alphabetically building sentence with corresponding illustrations. The concept intrigued me, and so I entered my name for the drawing.
Intriguing though I still find the concept, I feel as if it might have been executed with more finesse, while recognizing how difficult such a book, such a sentence is to craft, particularly while making it appropriate for the young target audience.
In 10 minutes or less, I dashed off a sentence using the same concept, but mine included words too lofty for a toddler audience, perhaps even more grammatical awkwardness, and would have been much harder to illustrate (I ended up with 11 adjectives and four nouns describing rain). I like the rhythm of the noun participle pairings that Arctic Bears Chase uses, but would otherwise have wanted more variation in structure.
What really rubs me about this book is how quickly the novelty of the nonsensical wears off and how quickly the illustrations cease building into a full story but instead dissolve into creative drawings that do not connect to one another except by the inclusion of the previous character. Arctic bears disappeared from the illustrations by the letter ‘I,’ and the illustrations ceased to build coherently after ‘F,’ when the frog is suddenly no longer in the tree.
I am 23. I am not the intended audience for this book nor have I been able yet to interact with a child who is the target age to watch his reaction. Perhaps a toddler would be more able to enjoy the rhythm and nonsense of the story.
Before signing off, I do want to warn that I know I can be a harsh judge of children’s literature.
Thanks, Mr. Fiffer and Miss Roberts for the book! I will try and get it read by younger children who cross my path and flip through it myself too when I need a laugh.
My Friend Rabbit: A Picture Book by Eric Rohmann
4.0
This is one of those Caldecott books both the writing and the illustrations of which I praise.
Relatively realistic although anthropomorphized and boldly outlined animals interact with the borders of the pages. Illustrations are filled with movement through the use of lines (both the angle of the figures, the positions of the limbs, and cartoonish dashed and curved lines to indicate movement). The color pallet is relatively subtle, though the plane, the catalyst of the tale, is boldly painted in red and yellow, lending it importance. The illustrations also occasionally include amusing aside dialogues.
The tale is simple enough. The main section of the story is essentially the Mouse's description of his best friend, Rabbit, and his reaction to Rabbit's ideas, but the pages must be looked over carefully and fully engaged with to understand the full story, expanded upon greatly by the illustrations.
I think we all know someone like Rabbit, someone who has an idea and we secretly think "Oh no," but we love them anyway, and we stand nearby, ready to fix whatever breaks or get them out of whatever trouble that they get into. In that way, these are realistic, relatable characters.
If you could give half ratings, I would probably give this one 3.5 simply because I'd like a little more meat even to my picture books, but otherwise I did really like it.
Relatively realistic although anthropomorphized and boldly outlined animals interact with the borders of the pages. Illustrations are filled with movement through the use of lines (both the angle of the figures, the positions of the limbs, and cartoonish dashed and curved lines to indicate movement). The color pallet is relatively subtle, though the plane, the catalyst of the tale, is boldly painted in red and yellow, lending it importance. The illustrations also occasionally include amusing aside dialogues.
The tale is simple enough. The main section of the story is essentially the Mouse's description of his best friend, Rabbit, and his reaction to Rabbit's ideas, but the pages must be looked over carefully and fully engaged with to understand the full story, expanded upon greatly by the illustrations.
I think we all know someone like Rabbit, someone who has an idea and we secretly think "Oh no," but we love them anyway, and we stand nearby, ready to fix whatever breaks or get them out of whatever trouble that they get into. In that way, these are realistic, relatable characters.
If you could give half ratings, I would probably give this one 3.5 simply because I'd like a little more meat even to my picture books, but otherwise I did really like it.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Favorite Words by Eric Carle
1.0
There's not a whole lot to this book. It is a collection of nouns paired with Eric Carle's illustrations of those nouns. Carle does pair some of the nouns, like cocoon and butterfly, which gives the book some sense of flow, but mostly it is a reading tool without a story. While the tiny board book may feel good in a baby's hands and they may like to imitate older siblings who can hold a full sized board book and read a more advanced story, it will be quickly outgrown when those children graduate to the original A Very Hungry Caterpillar and it will not be a story to which they return since there is no story to return to.
One by Kathryn Otoshi
3.0
I appreciate Otoshi's message and her ability to convey lessons of anti-bullying, colors, and numbers all at once, though I'm also not sure how I feel how I feel about the colors changing their shapes to reflect "1," and it is maybe delivered a little high-handedly. Kids need to hear about the power of standing up to a bully and need to know that offering comfort without confronting the problem may not be enough to help the one being bullied. The simplicity of Otoshi's illustrations is endearing. I particularly like the colors; as I mentioned, something about the change into numbers rubs me wrongly, though I do understand the idea: that the colors have become more (a color and a number) by standing up to the bully, Red (but were they not then good enough as they were?). I can't say that this is a particularly enjoyable book--not in the way that Mo Willems' books are enjoyable--but it is important, a book that should be read in classrooms and stocked on library shelves. This is one I'd like to rate 3 1/2 if the option were allowed.