School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2020)

PreS-Gr 1 A tiny lion materializes in a dandelion patch in this wordless picture book with dreamy and gently fantastical appeal. The dandy lion whisks off from the field and onto a train. Serendipitously finding itself thrust in one adventure after the next, the tiny lion experiences kindness from unexpected places, dodges terrifying situations among the hustle and bustle of a city, and finds joy piloting a child's toy airplane in a park. Eventually, it floats into a meadow in the countryside and becomes a dandelion puff. Vibrant yellow, colored digitally, creates a striking contrast to the dreamlike landscapes rendered in charcoal. The landscapes and objects are perfectly shaded in charcoal grays and blacks, giving readers just enough detail to identify where the lion has landed. The yellow mane of the lion is reminiscent of a dandelion and acts as a frame of focus for the lion's face, which conveys the changing moods and tone of the story. VERDICT A clever and beautifully rendered wordless tale that will captivate young readers as they float along with dandelions in the circle of life. Mindy Hiatt, Salt Lake County Library Services

ALA Booklist (Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)

Digitally colored charcoal illustrations depict the wordless journey of a dandelion. Born into a field filled with his relations, the star of the story picted, once he wakes, as a lion-like creature with a bright yellow, flowery mane s dreams of travel and adventure. The graphic illustrations show him hitching a ride on a train, a sheep, a ship, and a toy airplane as he marvels at the new sights and sounds beyond his meadow. Sparkling big-city lights remind him of his field of dandelions, which have now all turned to seed. Though he returns home, a new venture is on the horizon. The dominant shades of black, gray, and white serve as crisp backgrounds for the bright yellow flower, who shines as he enjoys mostly positive experiences in his travels. The illustrations vary in size; some are vignettes surrounded by frames, and others reach from margin to margin. Whether his roots ever truly leave the ground or if this is all his vivid imagination, readers will have fun deciding.

Horn Book

In the darkness, in a field dotted with fully blooming yellow dandelions and white ones that have gone to seed, a tight bud of a dandelion stands upright. In the next spread, the dandelion has popped open, with an exuberantly bright yellow color compared with the others. The following spread shows the flower now a joyful lion, arms outspread and face looking thrilled -- the yellow petals form a mane, and a golden tip of a tail. The wordless story continues with the dandelion running toward and riding on a train, then on the back of a sheep. Tanaka moves the story along and adds depth to particular moments through comics-style panels alternating with expansive full-page illustrations and double-page spreads. After a series of adventures, including a trip to the big city (where our protagonist takes in a movie complete with popcorn), the dandelion returns home to its field, now dotted with mostly white dandelions. For two spreads, our dandelion is seen from the back, making the exact moment of transformation from flower to seed difficult to pinpoint, but its head becomes snowy white, echoed in the night sky by the moon. After a page-turn, its seeds fly up into the sky, where they form the shape of a lion. Tanaka sticks with limited colors, using charcoal to create dark, soft spaces, and a digital yellow that conveys the vibrancy of a short, memorable life. Children often particularly enjoy dandelions in both forms, and this circle-of-life story will resonate with them. Susan Dove Lempke

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This wordless fantasy unfolds at night, and its matte black pages contrast dramatically with stylized, crisp-edged artwork and wispy puffs of light that Tanaka (Sparrow Girl) creates in white and yellow. Over a single page turn, a dandelion in full bloom dreams it has become a miniature lion, its shining petals transforming into the lion-s mane. The lion faces readers with an antic smile and does a little dance step, delighted with its new form. It dashes joyously out into the world, drinking up new experiences: