Down The Dragon's Tongue by Margaret Mahy

Harry and Miranda can't wait to climb up to the top of the slide that looks just like a dragon's tongue, but their Dad isn't so sure. After all, a businessman wearing a white shirt, polished shoes and a hand-painted tie can't go sliding down a dragon's-tongue slide - or can he? Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Mahy and MacCarthy (previously paired for 17 Kings and 42 Elephants) team up for this story of a buttoned-down businessman who literally kicks off his shoes at his children's urging. Mr. Prospero informs twins Miranda and Harry that fathers wearing white shirts, shiny shoes, and hand-painted silk ties that look like fruit salad do not ride down huge slides at the park. But after some initial fears, Mr. Prospero discovers he can Whooosh! with the best of them, and the twins have a hard time getting him to go home. Mahy's language is offbeat, verbally dexterous and chock-full of repeated metaphors and accumulating jokes. The father's clothes mirror his gradual awakening in both art and text as he loses his buttons and nearly eats his fruit salad tie. MacCarthy's acrylic paintings focus on action and character, but at times seem out of sync with the text. Mahy frequently hints at magic (naming the father Prospero, invoking images of a city that lies out beyond like a land in a dream and glows like a fairyland in the last rays of sunlight), but MacCarthy largely ignores these metaphors, so that the somewhat flat ending lacks a dreamy punch. Nonetheless, this is still a charmer. Ages 4-7. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 2-Mr. Prospero, a neatly dressed businessman by day, reluctantly risks his penchant for order and escorts his twins to a playground one afternoon. In spite of the children's assurances that he will only have to watch, the hesitant father is cajoled into accompanying them down the great big, slippery slide, which shone like the bright, long tongue of a friendly dragon. Together, the quartet (the family dog slides, too) conquers gravity with a Whooosh! Swiiish! Wheee! and Wooow! MacCarthy's brightly colored illustrations have rhythm and energy that complement the lively tone of the text. The great big, slippery slide literally becomes the dragon's tongue, emerging from the gaping dragon mouth at the top of a hill. While this team's Boom, Baby, Boom, Boom (Viking, 1997) and 17 Kings and 42 Elephants (Puffin, 1993) are more original, there are a few trademark Mahy moments of whimsy here. Robin L. Gibson, Perry County District Library, New Lexington, OH Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Booklist Mr. Prospero is an important businessman with a propensity for neatness and order. One evening his twins, Harry and Miranda, beg him to take them to the playground. Since his wife is otherwise occupied, he reluctantly agrees, and everyone is pleasantly surprised when he becomes the biggest fan of the great big slippery slide, aka the Dragon's Tongue. MacCarthy's bright, acrylic paintings capture the fun of this enormous slide, which is built into a high hill and accessible only via a series of stairways. Mahy's graceful language gently tickles our physical senses as well as our sense of humor as the family goes swizz, swoosh, whizz, and woosh, and Daddy's fruit salad tie learns to fly. This is also a wonderful choice for summer story hours, and for toddlers' apprehensive parents who may have forgotten the joys of childhood. Kay Weisman Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Kirkus Reviews Mr. Prospero is a staid businessman who loves the well-ordered world at his office. His suits are always pressed, his tie is always neatly knotted, his hair is always in place, and he always accomplishes his goals in the tidy, well-organized office in which he works. But when Mr. Prospero arrives home where his wife and his twins Harry and Miranda are waiting for him, things are, well, slightly less well-ordered than at work. The children excitedly demand that their dad take them to the playground to play on the beautiful long, red slide shaped like a dragon's tongue. The children assure Daddy that he won't get messy and dirty just watching them go down the slide and they convince him to take them. At the playground, Harry and Miranda beg their father to slide down with them. We need a father sliding with us. And a dog! Miranda says happily, knowing her father won't say no to his children. Despite his misgivings and the threat of dirt on his clothes, Mr. Prospero agrees to slide down once. And then slides down once more, and again and again and again. In fact, when Harry and Miranda are tired and want to go home, Mr. Prospero is still climbing the steps to the top of the slide, sliding down, and then starting the process all over. By now, Mr. Prospero has lost his shoes, his shirt has come untucked, his tie is awry, and his hair is mussed. But he's supremely happy. Children will delight in seeing a buttoned-down daddy loosen up and give in to the pleasure of doing something just because it's fun. Although this world seems straight out of the 1950s in its homogeneity (all the characters are white and most of the girls and women wear dresses and are well-groomed), the lack of any sort of diversity will be more problematical for adults than for the children who will wholeheartedly love the concept. Warm illustrations rendered in acrylics and painted in a deliberately childlike style ably convey the children's enthusiasm and their father's initial ambivalence before he gives in to the exhilaration of sliding down the slide. There is too much empty white background in the design of the book, but this is a minor criticism. An enormously fun and joyous book that works equally well as a group read-aloud or one-on-one. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.