Synopsis
On a shopping trip to the department store, Max's determination to get a dragon shirt leads him away from his distracted sister and into trouble
Reviews
PreSchool-Grade 2-- The engaging toddler rabbit is back, clad in tattered, paint-smeared, but dearly loved old blue pants. Draconian older sister Ruby drags him to the store for new ones, but Max, insistent as ever, only has eyes for a green shirt featuring a fire-breathing dragon. When Ruby spies first one dress and then another that she loves, the two become separated, and the search that follows is a true comedy of errors. Winsome but willful Max gets his heart's desire, and once again Ruby is deflated, giving young readers and listeners the vicarious satisfaction of besting an older sibling. The text reads well aloud, but is easy enough for beginning readers, who will soon notice that while Ruby gives her orders, Max's vocabulary is limited to one telling line repeated throughout: "Dragon shirt." Wells uses more background, more detail here than in previous "Max" stories, artfully capturing the hustle-bustle of a busy department store. Another gleeful romp with a pair of unforgettable hares.
- Trev Jones, School Library Journal
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
It's hard to imagine anyone--child or adult--getting his or her fill of the indefatigable Max, who always manages to get his way no matter what. Here, the bad-news bunny and sister Ruby go to a department store to replace Max's beloved, stained overalls, which are held up by a safety pin. They have five dollars for a new pair of pants, but Max would rather spend the money on a more exotic item. "Dragon shirt," he keeps insisting in his delightfully pithy, ever-determined manner. While Ruby is trying on dresses, Max slips out of the changing room and wanders into Boys' Sportswear, where he finds a rack of shirts emblazoned with a dragon's face. By the time Ruby catches up with her impish brother, he has dribbled ice cream all over the dragon shirt--which happens to cost exactly five dollars. Max wins again, as does Wells ( The Little Lame Prince ; Shy Charles ) . Her droll sibling interplay is perfectly on target, and her inimitable bunny is as irresistible as ever. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Hooray! Max is back, again giving bossy older sister Ruby her comeuppance just by going his own sweet, imperturbable way. Ruby has just five dollars to buy Max a pair of much-needed pants. Max remarks quietly that he prefers a dragon shirt; Ruby points out in her usual tactless manner that Mother's directions were explicit and there won't be enough money. Then she gets involved in trying on dresses; Max doses off, wakes, wanders down to Boys' Sportswear and tries on the coveted shirt, finds himself lost, and is comforted by two policemen and some multicolored ice cream, which he gets all over the shirt...Meanwhile, Ruby finally misses him, pursues her own distraught itinerary, and arrives to find that the shirt is now Max's by default. Deliciously witty, with Wells also capturing every nuance- -and satirizing the department store and its denizens--in her delightful illustrations. Totally satisfying. (Picture book. 3-8) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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