Bob Shea, Author , illus. by Lane Smith. Hyperion $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-4231-1100-9
Trailed by his yes-man sidekick (a mynah bird), a boy trumpets his ambitiousness. “I got big plans! Big plans, I say!” he shouts repeatedly, in display type that dominates the pages (no mean feat, considering the hyperthyroid trim size).
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Little, Brown, $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-316-48301-8
In his characteristic cartoon-style illustrations, Shea (the Ballet Cat series) creates an energetic game show in which readers become players. Choosing from one of the three words in the title, they must guess what will happen when a foolhardy “Acti
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4847-3046-1
Shea’s ghost narrator talks a good game about being brave, but readers will see right through him—especially after he spills orange juice on himself and spends the rest of the book “naked.” (In a marvelous design touch, spot gloss is used to make...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-6807-2
The star of Shea’s Dinosaur vs. books may dominate his foes, but not so with shaggy, orange-striped, and ill-tempered Buddy the monster, who tries and fails to eat a passel of cute, white bunnies. “No, please, no! We were about to make cupcakes!”...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-6806-5
Shea’s red dinosaur has always been adorable as he’s battled bedtime, the potty, and the library in earlier books, but in a snowsuit or sweaters festooned with snowmen and reindeer, he’s downright irresistible. He’s also grown up a bit: not only...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea, HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-199846-1
In the midst of bragging about his fierce reputation, a shark reveals his insecurities. "If there were a dinosaur here... you know what he would be? Scared," grins the shark. "What about a creepy spider...?" asks a red crab. The shark's toothy smile
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea, Disney, $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-3339-1
In his second adventure, Shea's fearsome red protagonist does battle with lemonade stands, sprinklers, juice boxes, pools, and puddles. As in the book's predecessor, the dinosaur always emerges victorious— "And still doesn't need to use the potty!"...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea, illus by Lane Smith. Roaring Brook, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-59643-975-7
Shea and Smith, the duo behind Big Plans, deliver a western yarn that’s long on cowboy slang and longer on screwball comedy. Mayor McMuffin of Drywater Gulch cannot abide the “hootin’, hollerin’, and cattle kissin’ ” Toad brothers, who are wreaking...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea, Author, Bob Shea, Illustrator . HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-173080-1
“I don't know what my daddy would do without me,” admits a little blue hippo. When his father, wearing oven mitts on his hands and underwear on his head, asks, “Is this
how you get dressed?” the child exclaims, “Oh
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-173083-2
Cheetah is insufferably competitive. When he hears that his two little cat friends are excited about the “big race day, ” he interjects, “The one I always win because I am big and fast and you always lose because you are little and cats?” To teach...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-5952-0
How can an ordinary goat compete when a unicorn with magical powers moves to town? The goat bakes marshmallow squares. The unicorn can make it rain cupcakes! The goat tries a magic trick. The unicorn can turn things into gold! It’s no coincidence...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea, Author, Bob Shea, Illustrator HarperCollins/Tegen $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-170417-8
Even before the title page in this lively romp of a bedtime book, a white rabbit challenges readers to a race to bed. The rabbit’s adventures are initially conventional (“Up to bed.../ down to bed...”), but quickly become silly (
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-6087-8
School is no match for Shea’s rambunctious, ever-confident red dino, starring in his fifth picture book. This is a hero who brings a winner-takes-all attitude toward making friends, playing dress-up, and craft projects alike: “Roar! Sprinkle! Roar!...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4231-6086-1
Shea’s strong-willed red dinosaur is back, and he’s making his Mommy’s life utterly chaotic. Dinosaur does a cannonball dive onto Mommy while she’s sleeping in, throws toys into the toilet while she showers (“roar! trains! Roar! bunny! roar! flush!”)
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $9.99 (56p) ISBN 978-1-4847-1378-5
Tapping into the same barely restrained exuberance and visual energy that characterizes much of his previous work, Shea introduces Ballet Cat, a pearls-and-tutu-wearing feline who loves to dance as much as the author’s Dinosaur and Cheetah...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4847-3045-4
Happiness can be a cudgel: that’s the gist of this funny, original, and astute meta-story. The narrator is a relentlessly cheerful face who personifies the book itself and conscripts readers into helping create the “Happiest Book Ever.” The one...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea, Author, Bob Shea, Illustrator . Hyperion $15.99 (0p) ISBN 978-1-4231-1335-5
Shea (New Socks
) makes a hilarious commentator as his hero, a small red dinosaur, elevates everyday encounters into a series of matches worthy of the WWF. “Dinosaur versus... a bowl of spaghetti
!” announces Shea and, with a trio of...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea, Author, Bob Shea, Illustrator . Little, Brown $12.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-01357-4
Slick digital design and silly antics rule the roost in this paper-over-board celebration of footwear, narrated by an excitable young chicken. "Notice anything different about me?" the peep asks. "Nope, it's not my glasses," he...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-136800944-7
In a sequel to Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great, it’s the first day of school and Unicorn’s confidence hasn’t waned: “There’s nothing to be nervous about!” he assures his friend Goat. “Let me go first, in case there are photographers.” But his big...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Little, Brown, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-48311-7
Bob, a bright yellow alligator intent on laziness, thinks, “Maybe if I ask nicely, a bird will fly in my mouth and down into my belly.” When that comes to naught, he hits on the idea of opening a birdseed restaurant for birds—on his nose—and figures
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Abrams, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4197-7155-2
A battle of wills unfolds when a teal-colored turtle encounters a green turtle, sporting an oversize yellow bear suit, who coolly declares itself a “for-real bear.” Shea (Oh, Are You Awake?), working in a naif style that gives this two-handed story...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea, illus. by Brian Won. Dial, $7.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-593-32589-6
Using big trucks and deductive reasoning, three well-intentioned pups collaborate in this lively series kickoff, which toys with basics of child development. When Dig Doug, Cheddar, and Puddles take the wheels of three trucks on the first day of...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea, illus. by Zachariah Ohora. Little, Brown, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-52521-3
The animal scout troop is gathered around the campfire, and Reuben, a bear, is just about to hand out donuts when everyone notices a crescent-shaped wet patch at the crotch of his pants. The bear immediately and improbably deflects the blame: “Who...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea. Candlewick, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5362-1832-9
Shea offers a slyly humorous take on life with a newborn in this wry picture book, pitched as much to parents as to kids. Clad in a blue sleeper and narrating via simple observations, a goldenrod-skinned baby obliviously repeats self-centered...
READ FULL REVIEW
Bob Shea, illus. by Jarvis. Candlewick, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5362-2658-4
“Tell me a story, Penguin,” says a large yellow lion to the little black-and-white bird perched upon its head. An aurora-like swirl of colors hangs over Penguin’s sleepy self, a clear indication that slumber is imminent, so the bird refuses: “Now is
READ FULL REVIEW
ARTICLES
