Review 77: Hannah and the Magic Blanket by Barry Nye

Hannah and the Magic Blanket
Land of the Dinosaurs
Written by Barry Nye
Illustrated by Sheila Keck
Copyright © 2008
$18.50 Paperback
40 pages – full color
ISBN: 9780557036820

Hannah And The Magic Blanket – Land of the Dinosaurs represents Barry Nye’s debut children’s story. Inspired by the imagination of his granddaughter, Hannah, Nye brings her imagination to life in this first of a series books about Hannah and her magic blanket. We meet Hannah as a spunky preschooler, who is preoccupied with playing dinosaurs and whose favorite toy is a purple dinosaur. After a hard morning at play, Hannah lays down on the couch for a nap snuggling with her pink blanket and purple dinosaur. The next thing she knows, she is in an unknown land and Mommy is nowhere to be found. Hannah’s spunky spirit takes her exploring and she soon runs across a purple dinosaur, just like her favorite toy at home. The dinosaur is very unhappy because she has a stone stuck between her toes. Hannah helps the dinosaur, whom she names Lulu, with the stone and they become fast friends.

“It should be pretty simple to remove,” Hannah said.
Lulu pulled her foot back and said, “Maybe we should wait for my Mommy.”
“Nonsense,” exclaimed Hannah. “I can do it!”
Lulu gritted her teeth. “OK,” the baby dinosaur said reluctantly, “but please don’t hurt me.”

Lulu takes Hannah home with her and they play along the beach while Lulu’s mom makes them some chocolate chip cookies. During Hannah’s adventure, she is able to help out her new friend with the stone between her toes, and later on is rescued by Lulu, cementing their friendship forever.

Nye crafts a good read-to-me book for young children. The illustrations are colorful and expressive, capturing the moment for the reader in a delightful way. For the most part the story flows easily and will be easily understood and appreciated by the younger set. One part which I felt could be potentially confusing is when Lulu and Hannah are playing by the lake and Hannah suggests a game of hide and seek, then they are splashing in the lake, and then playing hide and seek. I felt that the sentences may have somehow become rearranged because it would have made more sense for them to splash in the water and then for Hannah to suggest hide and seek followed by their playing of the game.

Hannah And The Magic Blanket – Land of the Dinosaurs represents the first in a series of books featuring the spunky and imaginative Hannah. Land of the Robots is currently being illustrated, so we can look forward to the release of the next adventure of Hannah and her magic blanket soon.