Leilong's Too Long! by Julia Liu and Bei Lynn
| Leilong's Too Long! by Julia Liu and Bei Lynn | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: Sometimes things have to change but they don't need to be destroyed. A delightful look at repurposing. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 28 | Date: April 2022 |
| Publisher: Gecko Press | |
| ISBN: 978-1776574339 | |
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Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes. Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck. It's perfect, isn't it? What could be a more fun way of going to school? There is a problem, though. Leilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled up. The school decides that he can't be the bus anymore.
The children were disappointed and Leilong was so upset that he went and hid in the gym and cried enough tears to fill a swimming pool. This gives the children an idea as Mimi slides down Leilong's back and lands in the pool. Max knows that this would make a fantastic waterslide and before long all the children have followed Max and Mimi. Soon after, Leilong has become the most popular playground in the city.
I'll confess to having my doubts as to whether a sentient being, even a fictional one, should become a playground for children: it goes against all my instincts but sometimes you have to remember that this is a story and there was never a point where a brontosaurus could be fined for breaking a bridge in a city. It's a bit of silliness but it does illustrate that you should not discard people or things as they can often move on to something better for them and everyone else. At least it stopped me crying!
It's a lovely story from Julia Liu and the illustrations by Bei Lynn complement the text perfectly. They're deceptively simple – almost scribbles – but every time I read the book I found something I hadn't seen before, from the cat snoozing in the window as Leilong collects his passengers to the broken telegraph wires. It's a book that will be returned to and reread - and because it's published by Gecko Press it will stand a lot of enthusiastic reading. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
We think you might also enjoy Dinosaurs in the Supermarket by Timothy Knapman and Sarah Warburton.
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