Children - Fiction & Literature

Again!

Name: Again!
Author: Emily Gravett
ISBN: 9781442452312

by Emily Gravett, Emily Gravett (Illustrator)

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Overview

A little dragon and his favorite book make for a combustible combination in this clever picture book with a surprise ending.

It’s nearly Cedric the dragon’s bedtime, and for Cedric, bedtime means storytime! When his mother reads him his favorite book, he likes the story so much that he wants to hear it again…and again…and again!

Cedric’s mom understands that the best stories are ripe for repetition, and she tries very hard to be patient. But sometimes dragons will be dragons—which is why this bedtime tale ends with an incendiary surprise!

About the Author, Emily Gravett

Emily Gravett is the author of many critically acclaimed books, including the Kate Greenaway Award–winning Wolves and Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears. She is also the author and illustrator of Again! (shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Award), Wolf Won’t Bite!, Blue Chameleon, The Rabbit Problem, Dogs, Spells, The Odd Egg, Monkey and Me, Orange Pear Apple Bear, and Meerkat Mail. She lives in Brighton, England, with her family. Visit her at EmilyGravett.com.

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Editorials

Kirkus Reviews

Gravett, that master of the metafictive die cut, returns for a savvy bedtime satire. It's time for this little green dragon's bedtime story. Clutching a blankie, it snuggles up to its parent dragon for the story of fierce Cedric the red dragon, who wreaks havoc every night. "Again?" pleads the little dragon, holding up the red, clothbound storybook (readers who remove the paper jacket will see that it's exactly the book that they are holding). The patient parent reads it again, with a little editorial revision: "At nighttime when Cedric SHOULD be asleep…." And again: "Cedric the dragon's a big sleepyhead. / He's decided it's time / HE WAS REALLY IN BED." With each iteration, the storybook's illustration changes, and Cedric transforms from a fire-breathing terror to a princess-kissing softie. At the fourth, parent dragon conks out, the ZZZs from its snoring mingling with the few letters on the storybook's page. Enraged, the little green dragon begins to turn red, shouting, "AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN!" Fully red after several futile repetitions, it puts some firepower behind its final "AGAIN," burning a hole through the last page and back cover. The storybook characters escape, luckily (and, though unseen, so does parent dragon, human parents will no doubt note). This little bit of bedtime foolery feels a little incomplete, but it should strike a chord—and it's far wittier than the similarly themed Go the Fuck to Sleep. (Picture book. 3-6)