Books by Dan Yaccarino and Complete Book Reviews

Dan Yaccarino. Feiwel and Friends, $13.99 (144p) ISBN 978-1-250-02462-6
When Ben McGillicutty leaves his beloved Sharkman action figure at school, the Class Pet Squad springs into action, determined to reunite Ben with his toy. Reptilian Rhonda plots the route to Ben’s house; turtle Julius is in charge of supplies;...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author Hyperion Books $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7868-0580-8
Dan Yaccarino's third installment of the Blast Off Boy and Blorp series, The Big Science Fair, features the friends' projects; their planetary cultural gap contributes to some surprising results.
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Dan Yaccarino, Author Hyperion Books $13.95 (1p) ISBN 978-1-56282-329-0
``I just know my big brother Mike doesn't like me,'' laments the narrator of this spunky first book. Here's why: Mike always grabs the prize out of the cereal box, hogs the remote control when the two watch TV and pushes his younger sibling too high
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Dan Yaccarino, Author Viking Children's Books $14.99 (34p) ISBN 978-0-670-86936-7
Kitschy art brightens a tired tale that begins as Mom delivers a classic ultimatum: Phil can't leave the dinner table until he finishes his vegetables. ""I hate vegetables!"" the boy exclaims, sticking out his tongue with displeasure. ""I bet if I...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) $6.95 (26p) ISBN 978-0-15-205351-2
PW called Dan Yaccarino's Good Night, Mr. Night ""a calming bedtime tale, whose quiet narration and undulating illustrations have an almost hypnotic quality."" .
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Dan Yaccarino, Knopf, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-86642-5
In this affectionate personal history, Yaccarino (Lawn to Lawn) traces his ancestry from Sorrento, Italy, to New York City. He links the generations with a humble hand-me-down: a hefty gray grocer's scoop pictured in nearly every spread. The...
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Dan Yaccarino. Knopf, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-86643-2
Doug, a robot child who’s a cross between Elroy Jetson and Rolie Polie Olie, plugs a cable into his belly button to process information. Marching out the door with their briefcases, his automaton parents wish him “Happy downloading!” Against a...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author Harcourt Children's Books $15 (40p) ISBN 978-0-15-201319-6
Once again, Yaccarino (Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!, reviewed above) takes to the skies. This time, Night assumes a human form in a calming bedtime tale, whose quiet narration and undulating illustrations have an almost hypnotic quality. As pictured here, Mr....
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Dan Yaccarino, Author Scholastic $15.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-590-95610-9
Yaccarino (Big Brother Mike) brings an effervescent perspective to moon exploration for the youngest astronaut wannabes in this breezy flight of fancy. A boy astronaut climbs into a bulging, oversized orange spacesuit and seats himself in front of a
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Dan Yaccarino, Author Henry Holt & Company $7.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8050-7532-8
Alfred the pug is adorable, yet no people provide him with affection; instead, he suffers many taunts, until he meets Rex, his mirror image. In PW's words, ""This amiable tale of self-confidence challenges its cruel title, and word-slinging ...
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Dan Yaccarino. Feiwel and Friends, $16.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-250-00844-2
Pizza delivery has never been as dangerous or exciting as in this whimsical first novel from author-illustrator Yaccarino (Doug Unplugged), in which Luno, the scion of an ancient and respected pizza-making family, faces an enemy bent on taking over...
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Dan Yaccarino. Knopf, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-385-75325-8
How can best friends be so different? Billy, a farm boy, is methodical and mild-mannered; Goat, a goat, is boisterous and a little impulsive. As Yaccarino (Doug Unplugged) writes, “Billy liked reading adventure stories, but Goat was always looking...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author . Knopf $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-85574-0
Four ticky-tacky decorations—a flamingo, a gnome, a lawn jockey, and a deer with half an ear—ponder their future when their owners move away. They miss Pearl, the girl who “knew that they were real,” and they face other...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author . Knopf $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-85573-3
Yaccarino (Every Friday ) dives into more complex material than many of his previous books for younger readers with this captivating biography. “Weak and sickly” as a boy, Cousteau turned to the Mediterranean (and to tinkering) in his...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author . Scholastic $17.99 (71p) ISBN 978-0-439-70338-3
Yaccarino (Trashy Town ) invites readers to jump into the Farley family station wagon for an old-fashioned road trip. Beginning in Maine and winding—page by colorful page—down the Eastern seaboard and across America, this informative,...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author . Holt $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8050-7724-7
Young children who share a dependable ritual with someone special can recognize themselves in this account of a father and son's weekly breakfast out. The elementary school–age son describes their routine, which begins before school or...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author . Random/Golden $14.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-375-82849-2
Yaccarino's (Bittle ) inventive, sharp-contoured images of city life unify this assortment of 34 nursery rhymes, which would have benefited from a more organized design. The contents range from such standards as "Humpty Dumpty" and "P
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Dan Yaccarino, Author . Hyperion $4.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7868-1429-9
In this continuation of the Blast Off Boy and Blorp series, Blast Off Boy doesn't mind having swapped places with Blorp in the Galactic Space Exchange Program, except that he misses his dachshund, Scooter. Meanwhile, Scooter continues to hide
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Dan Yaccarino. Workman, $5.95 (22p) ISBN 978-0-7611-8735-6
In one of three board books kicking off the Happyland series, Yaccarino introduces a trio of friends named Bink, Clyde, and Glub-Glub. Awakening to a rainstorm, fishlike Glub-Glub—somewhat ironically—“did not like the rain. He worried about going...
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Illus. by Dan Yaccarino. HarperFestival, $6.99 (16p) ISBN 978-0-06-225338-5
In this companion to Five Little Bunnies and Five Little Pumpkins, a group of all-green elves help prepare for Santa’s flight, taking turns wondering where Santa is, reflecting on their toy-making, and otherwise making sure that everything is in...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Adam McCauley, Illustrator , illus. by Adam McCauley. Walker $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8027-8776-7
In this mock-horror yarn about leftover veggies, evil greens terrorize a community. The trouble starts when lima-bean-hating Sammy stows his side dish in his sock when his mother isn't looking. He runs outside "with a sock full of hot,...
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Dan Yaccarino. HarperFestival, $6.99 (16p) ISBN 978-0-06-284021-9
In a companion to Five Little Pumpkins, the gourds (each with a carved jack-o’-lantern face) return. Yaccarino offers a variation on the popular nursery rhyme, counting from one to five with bold blue and orange Halloween- and harvest-themed art....
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Dan Yaccarino. Harper, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-241106-8
In understated words and bold cartoons, Yaccarino (Billy and Goat at the State Fair) traces storytelling from humanity’s earliest days to the present. Writing in the voice of story itself, he portrays evolving methods of conveying stories, printed...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator Viking Children's Books $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-670-87401-9
Strange critters befriend the narrator of this absurd tale, which pokes fun at those who adopt stray puppies and kittens. A tiny girl leads a huge, balloon-shaped octopus into a bathtub (""An octopus followed me home today,/ One that I promise to...
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Dan Yaccarino. Harper, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-241107-5
Yaccarino (I Am a Story) highlights the power of kindness and daring to go against the grain in the story of a small, dapper mole who doesn’t fit in with his larger, burlier brothers. Deep underground, a family of blue moles spends its days doing...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator . S&S/Atheneum $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-84252-8
Oswald the octopus, whom youngsters may recognize from the Nick Jr. series, moves to Big City and meets many pleasant neighbors in this thoroughly polite picture book. Oswald, a violet-blue orb resembling Pac-Man with tiny tentacles and a bowler hat,
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator Hyperion Books for Children $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7868-0579-2
New Pet by Dan Yaccarino continues the Blast Off Boy and Blorp series begun with First Day on a Strange New Planet. Blast Off Boy doesn't mind having swapped places with Blorp in the Galactic Space Exchange Program except that he misses his ...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator Hyperion Books $14.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7868-0578-5
In this auspicious debut of the Blast Off Boy and Blorp series, Yaccarino (Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm Off to the Moon) grandly unveils the Galactic Space Exchange Program. ""Johnny Smith, dubbed `Blast Off Boy' by his hometown newspaper, had been chosen...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator Atheneum Books $16 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-82235-3
In perhaps his best-realized picture book yet, Yaccarino (Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm Off to the Moon) takes a tongue-in-cheek look at an arrogant king of beasts. This lion bullies his subjects, including frowning brown monkeys and irritated blue...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator Puffin Books $5.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-14-056532-4
""With a plot and images fueled by imagination and exaggeration,"" said PW, this tale is for anyone who can't resist a stray pet. Ages 3-8. (Feb.)
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator HarperFestival $5.99 (16p) ISBN 978-0-694-01177-3
In Five Little Pumpkins, illus. by Dan Yaccarino, five carved pumpkins watch ghosts and witches fly by on Halloween night. Bold colors, expressive pumpkins and dramatic perspectives complement the spirited rhyming text. R.W. Alley's lively, ...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator . Holt $16.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8050-7493-2
Cynthia "just knew" she would get a pony for her fifth birthday, "and she would name him Marigold." But the polka-dot box she receives is too small for a horse, and instead contains a globular fishbowl and an orange fish with...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator Dan Yaccarino. S&S/Aladdin $6.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-85517-7
"In perhaps his best-realized picture book yet, Yaccarino takes a tongue-in-cheek look at an arrogant king of beasts," wrote PW in a starred review. "With short, sharp sentences and mild sarcasm, he humorously twists the savage-versus-c
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator . Hyperion $4.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7868-1430-5
In these two episodes in the Blast Off Boy and Blorp series, earthling Johnny Smith swaps places with Blorp Glorp from planet Meep as part of the Galactic Space Exchange Program. "Yaccarino puts a fresh and funny spin on ordinary events like...
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator . Harcourt/Voyager $6 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-216386-0
"Night assumes a human form in a calming bedtime tale, whose quiet narration and undulating illustrations have an almost hypnotic quality," wrote PW. Ages 2-5. (Oct.)
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Dan Yaccarino, Author, Abigail Tabby, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator HarperFestival $7.99 (10p) ISBN 978-0-694-01530-6
Baby Face by Abigail Tabby, illus. by Dan Yaccarino, joins the Playtime Rhymes series. Large round interactive faces accompany simple rhymes that urge toddlers to pull tabs in order to expose a ""toothy grin"" and to watch a little girl's ""mop...
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Catherine Friend, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator Hyperion Books $13.95 (1p) ISBN 978-1-56282-473-0
Two children ice-fishing with their grandfather express their dread of the watery depths in this playful story. ``The ice, two feet thick, shimmered a strange blue and white. The water was dark and mysterious,'' writes Friend (My Head Is Full of...
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Andrea Griffing Zimmerman, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Author, David Clemesha, Author HarperCollins $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-027139-8
Zimmerman and Clemesha, authors of The Cow Buzzed, give a cleaned-up account of sanitation work. Mr. Gilly is a trash collector and has the enviable task of driving a big blue truck. Accompanied by two tidy, pale-gray rats, Mr. Gilly gathers garbage
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LLC Henry Holt & Company, Manufactured by, Dan Yaccarino, Author . Holt $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8050-6321-9
Yaccarino (Circle Dogs) finds an ideal subject for his smooth, lava-lamp-globular painting style: the fawn pug. According to human regulations for cuteness, Alfred the pug dog is adorable, with his oversize round head, buggy brown eyes and curly...
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Laura Godwin, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Author, Dan Yaccarino, Illustrator Hyperion Books $14.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7868-0297-5
Camouflaged by snow, Little White Dog is hard to detect: only pointy extremities sticking out from a white field, plus a coal-black eye and nose, indicate his presence. The flat, highly stylized forms of Yaccarino's (Good Night, Mr. Night) gouache...
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Dan Yaccarino. MineditionUS/Russo, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-66265-047-5
It was unlike any storm we’d ever seen,” this layered volume’s unspecified narrator says of the title’s weather event: “No one knew how long it would last. We were going to have to stay inside, maybe for a long while.” A father, a blue dog, and...
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Dan Yaccarino. mineditionUS, $18.99 (66p) ISBN 978-1-6626-5089-5
The latest from Yaccarino (The Longest Storm) centers a comics-styled near-future dystopia in which purple-hued people in pointy helmets have given up all claim to autonomy and connection. They walk around all-consumed by handheld screens and are “he
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Dan Yaccarino. Holiday House, $14.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8234-5636-9
Though the eponymous sibling stars of this intergalactic I Like to Read Comics title share a palatial house on the Moon, they have little in common and are frequently at odds. STEM fan Nera, portrayed with light blue skin, a black bob, and a sleek
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Dan Yaccarino. Little, Brown/Ottaviano, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-3165-7456-3
Piccolo, a “very helpful” shrew sporting a jaunty scarf and cap, begins the day sipping coffee on a balcony overlooking an Italian cityscape rendered in golds, yellows, and oranges that radiate with promise. “Che città bella! What a beautiful city!”
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Dan Yaccarino. HarperCollins, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-267027-4
In Tess’s town of Myth-hattan, everyone is some kind of mythical creature: there are centaurs and Minotaurs, fairies and mer-people, and nobody thinks twice if you have snakes for hair. Tess, however, is the only giant, the adopted daughter of fairy
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ARTICLES
  • Q & A with Dan Yaccarino
  • Q & A with Dan Yaccarino
  • Q & A with Dan Yaccarino
  • Q & A with Dan Yaccarino
  • Q & A with Dan Yaccarino
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