Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A child’s inquisitiveness becomes disruptive. For the tan-skinned, dark-haired young narrator of this book, curiosity often feels like a beast that’s “always ready to chase the next shiny object”—a dragon, specifically, because it’s “alwaysdraggin’ me around” and making it hard to sit still in school. Talbott’s energetic cartoon illustrations, interspersed with dialogue between dragon and child, vividly convey how the child’s attention constantly meanders. In a hectic spread, the youngster goes from searching for a Frisbee to researching Saturn to giving a gift to a pet dog. “NOW, why did I come in here?” the child wonders an hour later. The only thing that keeps the protagonist focused is cycling. Reading about bike maintenance leads to researching Leonardo da Vinci, who “had ideas about everything.” In a dream, Leonardo rescues the narrator from “a sea of shiny objects” and introduces such visionaries as Galileo and Mozart—members of the Center for Outside the Box Thinking, all with their own dragons. After Leonardo reminds the narrator, “You can choose what to ignore and what to explore,” the child realizes it’s OK to let some shiny objects pass: “Maybe the next one will change my life. Or the planet!” In an author’s note, Talbott wonders if he “was on the spectrum of what is now identified as ADHD.” Though that condition goes unmentioned in the main narrative, readers with ADHD will particularly empathize with the child’s curiosity and frustration. All will enjoy the clever text and animated illustrations. Encouraging.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.