Dragons Love Tacos 2--The Sequel

May 1, 2017
When the world runs out of tacos, there’s only one thing to do: go back in time, “save a handful of tacos, plant them in the ground, and grow taco trees so we never run out of tacos again.” Fans of Dragons Love Tacos won’t be surprised that this expedition doesn’t go terribly smoothly: there are several spicy-salsa-triggered fire-breathing incidents, as well as pit stops in timelines where dragons love diapers and giant tacos love dragons. Are the time jumps always easy to track? Not really, but this sequel’s dialed-up energy and absurdity remain a tasty—and very funny—combination. Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

April 15, 2017
As if the fiery disaster of the first outing (2012) weren't bad enough, news that the world's entire supply of tacos has been used up leaves not just the dragons dismayed.Fortunately, there's a time machine in the garage, so it might be possible to bring new seed stock for taco trees (didn't you know?) from the past. Unfortunately, said device is hard to calibrate-- first they undershoot back to the previous volume's spicy-salsa-fueled holocaust and then overshoot to a similar catastrophe in prehistoric times. Subsequent ventures into alternate space-time continua lead to universes where dragons love...diapers ("That's not right"), and tacos chow down on dragons ("Weird, but closer!"). Then, when the chunky white lad leading the draconic expedition does finally get it right, only the taco in his lap survives the trip back to the present. That's enough for a happy ending, though, as Salmieri shows in the last of his naive-style cartoon scenes with a taco party in which dragons and diversely hued figures (some recognizable) from various historical and fantasy realms mingle. "After all," as Rubin puts it, "dragons love diapers. I mean, tacos. Dragons love tacos. / Heck, everyone loves tacos." Most young readers, even those in diapers, would agree. (Picture book. 3-5)

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June 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 1-The kid and his taco-loving dragon friends are back, and there's a crisis. There are no tacos left in the world. "None. Nada. Nil." Circumstances require use of the time machine to go back to a party for a handful of tacos to plant and grow into trees. However, spicy salsa messes things up again, with journeys back to wrong time periods, including when dragons loved diapers and when tacos loved dragons. Eventually heading home, the kid watches in disbelief as the dragons lose their resolve and gobble down ALL the tacos...except one. He plants a taco tree and the world is saved from disaster. Created with watercolor, gouache, color pencil, and digital elements, the images are comical, especially the scenes of spicy salsa fire breath and its aftermath. Deadpan statements such as "Oh boy, not again" and "Oh, come on" reinforce the humor. VERDICT Kids who can't get enough dragons or tacos will be won over by this humorous tale. A silly addition for old fans and new readers alike.-Gaye Hinchliff, King County Library System, WA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2018
When a "sudden exhaustion of taco supplies" leaves the dragons bereft, the narrator tries (and repeatedly fails) to set a time machine back to the last taco party (�cf2]Dragons Love Tacos�cf1]). Mishaps involve cavemen, diapers, and (of course) spicy salsa. As in this book's predecessor, the tongue-in-cheek, conversational narrative's humor wears thin by book's end, but kids will devour Salmieri's slapstick illustrations of the hangry chaos.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)