100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli

by David LaRochelle, Lian Cho (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

David LaRochelle's 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Brocolli is an engaging riot of a read that's absorbing, fun and completely rooted in foundational math concepts. Executed with ease and panache it sits perfectly next to The Day the Crayons Quit.

"A nonstop dragon party . . . Irresistible." —Publishers Weekly

This wacky counting adventure by Geisel Award-winning author David LaRochelle is a hilarious ode to dragons and math, with pitch-perfect art by Lian Cho.

High on a mountain live 100 mighty dragons all named Broccoli. When a tremendous wind blows half the dragons away, ten others sail off to become professional surfers in Hawaii. The oldest and youngest dragons take a train to New York City to start their own heavy metal band. And a mysterious wizard turns four more into a unicorn, a werewolf, a zombie, and a tiny pink poodle. Now how many dragons are left? Young readers will delight in following each and every dragon as they leave their home for marvelous adventures, until there is but one dragon remaining. That's when this final dragon named Broccoli retreats to a cave for the winter and reappears in the spring with a surprise that will thrill and delight. Prepare to read again!

"Plenty of giggles . . . This is one entertaining and silly way to do math.” —Kirkus
"A hilarious, charming and extremely silly book. . . . A great addition to any child's bookshelf.” —The Minneapolis StarTribune
"So clever, so utterly silly and absurd, so delightful and so engaging." —InfoDad.com
"Colorful . . . Countable . . . Humorous . . . Lively." —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593112878
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	30 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

David LaRochelle is the author of many books for children including How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans, The Best Pet of All, and The Haunted Hamburger and Other Ghostly Stories. David lives in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
 

Lian Cho has created artwork for Sesame Workshop and the New Yorker, and illustrated several critically acclaimed picture books, including It Began with Lemonade and The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom. Lian grew up in Taiwan and New Zealand, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, is a Society of Illustrators Student Competition Finalist, and received the Rhodes Family Award for Achievement in Illustration.

Editorial Reviews

02/13/2023

A refrain-like structure and boldfaced numerals chronicle a series of dragon subtractions and additions in this mathematical word problem turned picture book. After a “tremendous wind” whisks away the first 50 of 100 mighty dragons “all named Broccoli,” LaRochelle (How to Apologize) reveals the fate of the remaining half: for starters, “10 dragons sailed away on a cruise ship and became professional surfers in Hawaii. This left...// 40 mighty dragons, all named Broccoli.” The remaining creatures’ adventures include rocking out as a New York heavy metal band, riding a scooter in Paris, rocketing to the moon, and playing for the Green Bay Packers. Freewheeling acrylic and colored pencil illustrations by Cho (It Began with Lemonade), which portray a wide diversity of dragon types and colors, render their arrayed fates in pages that evoke a nonstop dragon party. The migrations leave one lonely, red-horned dragon dwelling in the once-bustling mountain habitat, but not for long; when she eventually emerges as a mother of dragons, a final spread reveals monikers for the 100 new youths. Comically specific outcomes and locale shout-outs make a close look of this bustling read irresistible. Human characters are portrayed with varied skin tones. Ages 3–7. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

*An Indie Next Pick*
*A Smithsonian Magazine Best Book of the Year*
*A School Library Journal/Fuse #8 Best Math Book of the Year*

"Cho’s colorful portrayals offer comedic magic and flair. Readers will be captivated by the antics of each Broccoli, [and the dragons'] quirky expressions will elicit plenty of giggles. . . . This is one entertaining and silly way to do math.” —Kirkus

"A nonstop dragon party. . . . Comically specific outcomes and locale shout-outs make a close look of this bustling read irresistible." —Publishers Weekly

“You can call this a counting book. You can call it a math book. I call it a hilarious, charming and extremely silly book. . . .  Once again, Geisel Award winner David LaRochelle [gives] us a wacky, thoroughly original story . . . A great addition to any child's bookshelf.” —The Minneapolis StarTribune

"You have never seen a counting book quite like this, because there has never been a counting book quite like this. . . . David LaRochelle has crafted a book so clever, so utterly silly and absurd, so delightful and so engaging—and has been so well abetted by illustrator Lian Cho—that kids and adults alike [will] read and reread and delight in the whole thing . . . [The title concept] makes for an eventual twist ending that readers will not see coming and that gives Cho an opportunity to display amazing illustrative virtuosity." —InfoDad.com

"An ode to dragons and math . . . this inventive book is sure to delight kids. . . . Fantastic." —Twin Cities Pioneer Press

"Colorful and countable . . . Humorous details throughout keep the math concepts lively." —Booklist

From the Publisher

2022-12-24
Addition and subtraction with cruciferous-named dragons.

“High on a mountain near a deep dark cave,”100 dragons fly, swoop, play, and blow fire across the pages. Though they vary by shape, color, and size, the fiery creatures all go by the name of Broccoli. A blistering wind blows away half of the dragons, leaving 50. Soon after, 10 dragons decide to go on a cruise and become “professional surfers in Hawaii.” The number of dragons rises and falls as a series of non sequitur events—and opportunities for readers to practice their addition and subtraction—continue: “5 dragons took a rocket to the moon. 2 of the dragons from West Virginia returned.” The total number left is in bold within the spare narrative. While the pace and the emotional tone stay even throughout the story, Cho’s colorful portrayals offer comedic magic and flair. Readers will be captivated by the antics of each Broccoli. The pudgy dragons’ quirky expressions will elicit plenty of giggles. Eventually only one red Broccoli is left, solemnly retreating into the cave for the winter. It is spring that welcomes Broccoli back, followed by 100 baby dragons. This time none of the infants are named Broccoli, with only one chubby exception. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

This is one entertaining and silly way to do math. (Math picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews