When Owen's Mom Breathed Fire by Pija Lindenbaum

When Owen's Mom Breathed Fire by Pija Lindenbaum
Originally uploaded by annethelibrarian.

I've been seeing more translated picture books this year than I ever recall seeing before. Perhaps I've just not noticed them in the past?

This book had me right from the get-go: "This is a boy. His name is Owen, and he almost always wears that dragon head." Perfect! I already respect and admire Owen, and he hasn't even opened his mouth yet. I also have a degree of respect and perhaps sympathy for his mother since she's looking at her son under that dragon head all day every day. It's no surprise that "in the morning she goes completely crazy" trying to get herself and her son ready to go to daycare.

What happens the next day is hilarious and awesome and takes the rest of the book to tell. The illustrations are unique, quirky, loveable, expressive, full of motion and emotion, and hilarious. Laugh-out-loud on the basis of the illustrations alone, when combined with the text, this one's a winner for sure.