Roar Like a Dandelion

by Ruth Krauss, Sergio Ruzzier (Illustrator)

Overview

*** #1 Amazon Bestseller ***

** Four starred reviews **

* A Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of 2019 *

From Ruth Krauss, the celebrated children’s book author of The Carrot Seed and A Hole Is to Dig, comes this never-before-published book of witty one-liners—brought to life by Geisel Honor-winning artist Sergio Ruzzier.

Dance with a leaf.

Jump like a raindrop.

Sit in the sun and shine.

Not since A Hole Is to Dig and Open House for Butterflies have we seen such electric and playful words on a page.

This imaginative story from Ruth Krauss—one of the most beloved children’s book authors of all time—and celebrated artist Sergio Ruzzier is a remarkable collaboration that captures the timeless spirit of Krauss’s signature wit and humor. Paired with Ruzzier’s irresistible drawings, this story will delight readers of all ages and inspire them to roar like dandelions.

A perfect gift for the holidays, Valentine’s Day, and graduation!

“An abecedarian catalog of delights.” —Kirkus (starred review)

“Each page offers its own adventure; taken together, the spreads create an irresistible, deliciously subversive invitation to turn one’s back on the tiresome.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“With a nod to the fanciful, this alphabetic listing of activities invites readers’ imaginations to soar.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

“Ruzzier creates a visual narrative with reoccurring characters. This small gem will encourage imaginative wordplay and movement.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062680075
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	688,104
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Ruth Krauss was one of the most widely celebrated children’s book authors of all time. Her long list of award-winning books includes The Carrot Seed, The Happy Day, A Hole Is to Dig, Open House for Butterflies, A Very Special House, and many others. Her books continue to be read and cherished by children throughout the world.

Sergio Ruzzier is a two-time Geisel Honor–winning picture book author and illustrator. He was born in Milan, Italy, in 1966 and began his career as an illustrator in 1986. Sergio has written and illustrated many picture books, including Fox and Chick: The Party, a 2019 Geisel Honor Book; Fish and Wave, a 2023 Geisel Honor Book; Two Mice; and more. He was a recipient of the 2011 Sendak Fellowship. His work has won many awards, including the Parents’ Choice Gold Medal for The Room of Wonders and This Is Not a Picture Book!

Editorial Reviews

Ruzzier's daffy creatures carry out each nutty order with unabashed flair.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 07/22/2019

This mischievous abecedarian by the late, celebrated Krauss, author of such classics as A Hole Is to Dig and The Carrot Seed, sat unpublished for decades, until Krauss’s longtime publisher and her estate’s executor agreed that Ruzzier (Good Boy) was just the artist to illustrate it. In single-line poems, Krauss impishly works through the alphabet, writing unexpected commands that poke fun at the tedium of traditional, noun-based ABC fare. Ruzzier extends the surreal mood expertly with subtly hilarious results—his endearing creatures, with their too-big ears and wrinkly snouts, are by turns dignified and joyful as they engage in playful vignettes reminiscent of early Sendak. For E, a pig seated in front of a door, knife and fork at the ready, prepares to “Eat all the locks off the doors.” For I—“Ignore yourself and get mad”—an enraged rabbit gazes at its reflection, which is seated comfortably, eyes closed, within a mirror. In one particularly sublime moment, a beatific dog, arms extended and eyes closed, grasps pinecones, illustrating H’s “Hold your arms out like a little pine tree.” Each page offers its own adventure; taken together, the spreads create an irresistible, deliciously subversive invitation to turn one’s back on the tiresome. And no special equipment is needed to follow the volume’s poetic instructions—just a willingness to “jump like a raindrop,” “kick away the snow and make spring come,” and “nod YES.” Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

This work adroitly bridges the more-than-half-century gap between two accomplished artists...An abecedarian catalog of delights.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Each page offers its own adventure; taken together, the spreads create an irresistible, deliciously subversive invitation to turn one’s back on the tiresome.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“With a nod to the fanciful, this alphabetic listing of activities invites readers’ imaginations to soar.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

"Ruzzier’s sweetly subversive sensibility proves to be a felicitous match. For each letter there’s a mischievous directive—aimed at anyone who’s outgrown tamer alphabetic fare. Fuzzier’s daffy creatures carry out each nutty order with unabashed flair." — New York Times Book Review

“A natural choice for storytime…Inventive and original, Ruzzier pays homage to Krauss as well as Sendak, using a style all his own.”
— Booklist

"It is sublime." — The Curious Reader

"Seussical at times, this pastel colored book is sure to spawn some disbelief as much as it provokes laughs… Overall a charming and funny book, ROAR LIKE A DANDELION explores the alphabet in a whole new way.” — YA Books Central

“If you are looking for an interactive, movement-based book for storytime, this is your book!" — Reader Pants

“Wondrously imaginative…An alphabetic catalogue of Krauss’s quirky, free-spirited, infinitely playfully, subtly profound prescriptions for joy and existential contentment…Page after page, letter by letter, Ruzzier’s sweet, and stubborn creatures leap and tumble along the lines of Krauss’s imagination with their joyous, mischievous magic.” — Brain Pickings

From the Publisher

Wondrously imaginative…An alphabetic catalogue of Krauss’s quirky, free-spirited, infinitely playfully, subtly profound prescriptions for joy and existential contentment…Page after page, letter by letter, Ruzzier’s sweet, and stubborn creatures leap and tumble along the lines of Krauss’s imagination with their joyous, mischievous magic.

Brain Pickings

"Ruzzier’s sweetly subversive sensibility proves to be a felicitous match. For each letter there’s a mischievous directive—aimed at anyone who’s outgrown tamer alphabetic fare. Fuzzier’s daffy creatures carry out each nutty order with unabashed flair."

New York Times Book Review

"Seussical at times, this pastel colored book is sure to spawn some disbelief as much as it provokes laughs… Overall a charming and funny book, ROAR LIKE A DANDELION explores the alphabet in a whole new way.

YA Books Central

"It is sublime."

The Curious Reader

A natural choice for storytime…Inventive and original, Ruzzier pays homage to Krauss as well as Sendak, using a style all his own.”

Booklist

If you are looking for an interactive, movement-based book for storytime, this is your book!"

Reader Pants

A natural choice for storytime…Inventive and original, Ruzzier pays homage to Krauss as well as Sendak, using a style all his own.”

Booklist

★ 10/01/2019

K-Gr 2—With a nod to the fanciful, this alphabetic listing of activities invites readers' imaginations to soar with a series of commands encouraging children to envision a world beyond the expected. Paired with Krauss's never-published humorous text, Ruzzier's soft color on pen-ink drawings add whimsy to each page of the possible or improbable. Each vignette suggests positive change with frequent outlandish anthropomorphic images—pigs don't fly, but they read books and listen as others make music, and elephants joyously "jump like a raindrop." Text urges readers to "paint a picture of a cage with an open door and wait" as fanciful winged creatures watch. Ducks even reverse flight to "walk backward all the way home." VERDICT A suggested first purchase for all libraries, this book urges readers to imagine the improbable, "Sit in the sun and shine" and "X out all the bad stuff," for anyone may, as the title suggests,"Roar like a dandelion."—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

School Library Journal

★ 2019-06-23
Who says unpublished Sendaks get to have all the fun?

This unpublished manuscript from the creator of A Hole Is To Dig (which was illustrated by said Sendak in 1952) follows in very much the same vein as that classic. It's ostensibly an alphabet book, and each letter is represented by a clear-cut command to child readers. They are urged in no uncertain terms to attempt short, simple acts ("Nod YES"), to make grand declarations ("Yell, ‘Good morning, big fat world!' "), and to attain moments of distilled poetry ("Open your eyes, see the sea / Shut them fast, lock it in"). Ruzzier's ink-and-watercolor illustrations meet, with great command, the challenge of making sense of Krauss' more esoteric urgings. Thus, "Go like a road" is illustrated with a (possibly) benign python a trail of mice walk along, and "Eat all the locks off the doors" features a pig, with a door stretched before it, screwdriver and wrench gripped like a fork and knife. Where Krauss rejoiced in children's irrepressible sense of self, Ruzzier's art recapitulates that feeling, and, with his cast of cats, rats, bugs, and birds, he is unafraid to bring a little surrealism into the mix. Ultimately, this work adroitly bridges the more-than-half-century gap between two accomplished artists.

An abecedarian catalog of delights. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews