Roar like a dandelion /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

*** #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)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

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abecedarian by the late, celebrated Krauss, author of such classics as A Hole Is to Dig and The Carrot Seed, sat unpublished for decades, until Krauss's longtime publisher and her estate's executor agreed that Ruzzier (Good Boy) was just the artist to illustrate it.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.)

School Library Journal Review

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

Booklist Review

This unconventional alphabet book pairs a previously unpublished manuscript from renowned author Krauss with whimsical pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations. Ruzzier matches Krauss' playful tone and takes it in unexpected directions. Act like a sprinkler in summer shows a mouse cooling off under a whale's spouting; Butt like a billy goat depicts a determined-looking rabbit trying to outmuscle a rhinoceros; Fall like rain features startled elephants dropping from the sky. The imperative text directs readers into creative movement, making this a natural choice for storytime. The animal characters are rendered with hilarious but understated expressions, allowing readers to take their time appreciating the humorous details in each letter's one-or-two-page spread. Some characters float on a white background, while other illustrations are grounded in colorful landscapes, and this visual variety propels the book, keeping it fresh as it moves through the 26 letters. Inventive and original, Ruzzier pays homage to Krauss as well as Sendak, using a style all his own.--Lucinda Whitehurst Copyright 2010 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

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) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Ruth Krauss was born on July 25, 1901 in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended the Peabody Institute of Music. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Parsons School of Fine and Applied Art and studied anthropology at Columbia University. In 1941, she married David Johnson Leisk, who wrote and illustrated children's books as Crockett Johnson. They occasionally worked together.

Her first book, A Good Man and His Good Wife, was published in 1944. She was credited as being one of the first authors to use minimal text, concentrating on precise language and working closely with an illustrator. She wrote more than 30 children's books during her lifetime including The Carrot Seed, I Can Fly, and A Hole Is to Dig: A First Book of First Definitions. She received the Caldecott Medal for The Happy Day in 1950 and A Very Special House in 1954. She also wrote verse plays and poetry for adults. She died on July 10, 1993 at the age of 91.

(Bowker Author Biography)