Nickerbacher is a dragon and aspiring comedian who travels to La La Land to audition for The Late Knight Show. Hoping to prove to his father – and the world – that dragons can be funny. Nickerbacher befriends a prince and a princess who help him realize his dream while paving the way for equal rights of all citizens. – Goodreads
Nickerbacher Review
Quite a while back, I reviewed Nickerbacher, The Funniest Dragon from Terry John Barto. It’s an adorable book filled with lots of colors, and has the basic mantra of ‘Follow your dreams’. I was surprised (and pleased) when the author contacted me out of the blue a few weeks ago and informed me that he’d made Nickerbacher into a beginning chapter reader. I agreed to review it even though I typically don’t try to review fantasy kids books anymore simply because I wanted to see what he had done to transform Nickerbacher.
The story hasn’t changed much. It’s just been fleshed out. Nickerbacher is an adorable, easy-going dragon whose life ambition is to be a stand-up comedian. His father, however, is of the mind that dragons should only do one thing. Guard princesses. Luckily, Nickerbacher’s Princess Gwendolyn is the open-minded sort of princess and encourages Nickerbacher to follow his dreams. Even if that means she has to let herself get ‘rescued’ by Prince Happenstance to make that happen. And she doesn’t need to be rescued.
The illustrations are good but not great. They have a certain charm to them but are nothing that will make you aww over the artist’s talent. Nickerbacher is a distinguished looking dragon with spots and some seriously thick eyebrows. You can tell he’s the cuddly sort of dragon just by looking at him. There is one particular scene, taking up pages 38 and 39, that I did thing was well done. It was probably my favorite of all the illustrations within the book.Overall, Terry John Barto did a good job of making the transition from picture book to early chapter reader.
Overall, Terry John Barto did a good job of making the transition from picture book to early chapter reader. There are a few simple jokes to crack the kids up (my now 7 years old approved!) and the adults will laugh. Especially if you enjoy puns. There are a few good ones in Nickerbacher. It’s worth the read.
Title: Nickerbacher | Author: Terry John Barto (site) | Publisher: TJP Kids | Pub. Date: 2016-12-7 | Pages: 55 | ISBN13: 9781944878276 | Genre: Children’s Fiction | Language: English | Rating: 4 out of 5 | Source: Received a copy from the author for review consideration.
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