March 12, 2018
In this addition to the Llama Llama series, carried on by the late Dewdney’s longtime partner Duncan, the titular character learns how to read at school. “No two letters are the same,/ but every letter has a name:/ It can be said. It can be heard./ Letters together make a word.” Llama Llama has a moment of frustration in class: “Llama’s hooves wave in the air./ Some words are hard—/ it’s just not fair!” Yet, at the library, Llama Llama and his classmates (including Nelly Gnu) are thrilled to discover that words come together to make books: “Look inside: O, what glory!/ All those words have made a story!” Morrow’s illustrations strongly resemble Dewdney’s in their range of expressiveness and the quality of warmth brought to the smallest of moments between Llama Llama and Mama. Ages 3–5.