Bo the Brave

When Bo wants to accompany her older brothers on a monster hunt, they sneer: "You're far too little." But thick-skinned Bo remains undeterred. "I'm smart and brave and strong!" she thinks before setting out on her own quest. It's not long before she encounters a griffin and then a three-eyed kraken ("Get ready to be got!"), but though both seem like monsters, their acts of kindness persuade her otherwise. At last, a cave-dwelling dragon, introduced with a page-filling roar, looks, smells, and sounds like the monster Bo has been seeking, but its cry is one of grief: the dragon's baby has been stolen. With a loud cry of her own, Bo leads her new friends on a rescue mission that brings the story full circle. Working in gouache, Woollvin (Little Red) relies on a palette of pink, teal, gray, and orange to create a setting both modern and medieval. Bo, with her face-filling eyes, resembles Woollvin's other fearless female protagonists; together, they seem to be rewriting the rules one fairy tale at a time. Ages 5-9. Agent: Paul Moreton, Bell Lomax Moreton Literary. (Apr.)

K-Gr 3--In this tale, Bo's brothers set off to capture a monster and refuse to let her join them, saying that she is "far too little." Bo is feisty and will not be sidelined so heads off on her own to look for the monster. She first meets a griffin, who is too helpful to be a monster. They join forces and come upon an octopus-like creature named Kraken. But Kraken is just too nice to be a monster. This band of seekers hear terrible roars and find a crying dragon whose baby was stolen. She fears that her baby is being held in a nearby castle engulfed in flames. Ultimately, Bo finds her brothers there and convinces them to release the baby dragon. Bo learns not to judge these kinds of creatures based on their appearance; she needs to look closer to find out who they really are. Woollvin's art uses bold shades of fuchsia and teal. VERDICT This is a great book to delve into what heroes are made of. Highly recommended for elementary libraries.--Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA