Eight years is a long time between sequels, especially for middle elementary school through middle school books. However, you can’t keep a good rabbit down as author/illustrator/worldbuilder Tony DiTerlizzi and his fans can attest to. Kenny & the Book of Beasts is the sequel to Kenny & the Dragon and is an utterly charming book that young readers will quickly embrace. This is also the kind of book that readers can enjoy without reading the first one in the series.
Fans of the first book can think of Kenny & the Book of Beasts as a reunification of the same sweet characters, mixed in with a little Atlas Shrugged, a little Mouse Guard and a host of other influences. It does all of this while being 100% original and charming. Charming, there’s that word again. It’s perhaps the best way to describe the overall feeling of the book. There are action sequences, as well as plot twists and turns, but it’s the fact that the book is so easy going that will keep you interested in it.
Kenny is a rabbit who is all too human. He works hard at what he does, sometimes tries to do too much and occasionally over reacts when he should just take a step back and relax. His best friend Grahame is a dragon. He’s quite friendly, adapting to the fact that he’s the only mythical creature in town and the fact that people aren’t scared of him anymore. That last fact is due to his and Kenny’s friendship, which is the talk of the town.
Grahame gets asked to do typical dragon tricks, which he gamely obliges from time to time. However, he and Kenny also get to do really cool things like have dinner with the king. It’s on one of these dinners that they meet Nesbit, a mouse who’s quite mysterious and a witch. While our fire breathing friend is exploring the castle grounds he accidently discovers that she has a book that many of the old timers in town would speak of because of its unknown powers.
It’s a magical book and when they start to read things from the book fantastical things happen. Whilst reading the book Kenny summons a massive lion beast with wings. The manticore comes into this new world angry, but quickly sees a friend who he hasn’t seen in a very long time. Suddenly, Grahame is not the only mythical creature in town anymore and the two have a lot of catching up to do.
As the two become reacquainted with each other Kenny starts to get jealous and make alliances with people who he might come regret. This sets up a really entertaining action sequence where our characters explore another dimension and discover the joys of antique automobiles.
Kenny & the Book of Beasts is a wonderful story. It’s the kind of good-natured fable-esque story that relies on imagination and the reader’s desire to believe that a maticore, dragon and rabbit can all get along. The chapters range in length around 14 pages and feature multiple illustrations in each one. The anthropomorphic nature of the characters feels even more so in this book. They feel like people that you’d see in a small town. They could be your neighbors or the nice people you ask directions from. It’s refreshing to read a book where everything is so well crafted, creative and pleasant. This has a timeless feel that will make the book come off as new regardless of what year you happen to read it in.
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