I Will Not Eat You

by Adam Lehrhaupt, Scott Magoon (Illustrator)

Overview

“Magoon’s exuberant art recalls classic characters, most particularly Max in his wolf suit...Fanciful pretend play for the dragon-slaying preschooler.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The dark color palette and mischievous nature of the text are reminiscent of Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back (2011)—albeit with a different final outcome.” —Booklist

From the award-winning author of Warning: Do Not Open This Book! and beloved illustrator Scott Magoon comes a suspenseful and darkly funny new picture book about a creature who resists the urge to eat the animals that wander into his cave...at least for now!

Theodore thinks everything is a potential meal. Lucky for the bird, wolf, and tiger, who pass by his cave, Theodore isn’t hungry…yet. But then something new approaches. A boy. Has Theodore found a new favorite food? Or something more?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481429337
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,030,034
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Adam Lehrhaupt’s first picture book, Warning: Do Not Open This Book!, received the E.B. White Read Aloud Honor Award, was an ALA Notable Book, and a HuffPost Notable Book. School Library Journal called it, “More fun than a barrel of monkeys.” He is also the author of Please, Open This Book!, which was named a Wanda Gag Comstock Read Aloud Honor Book, and Idea Jar. Adam has traveled to six continents, performed on Broadway, and lived on a communal farm. He currently lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with his wife, sons, and two bizarre dogs. Visit him online at AdamLehrhaupt.com.

Scott Magoon has illustrated many critically-acclaimed picture books, including the New York Times bestselling Rescue & Jessica by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes, which also received a Schneider Family Book Award, Straw by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and Misunderstood Shark by Ame Dyckman. He is the author-illustrator of Breathe, which was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Read Aloud and a Best Book of the Year by the HuffPost and Chicago Public Library. Scott lives in the Boston area with his wife and two sons. Visit him online at ScottMagoon.com.

Editorial Reviews

06/27/2016
As Theodore debates eating the noisy animals that pass by his cave, Magoon (Breathe) delivers laughs using nothing more than the creature’s eyes shifting left and right, all that readers can see of him. Theodore decides against eating the animals, but when a boy with a hobbyhorse and garbage lid shield roars in Theodore’s face, Theodore emerges, a hulking red dragon. The boy is undaunted. He shines his flashlight in Theodore’s eyes and pokes at his snout with his wooden sword. “That’s it!” Theodore snarls. “I will eat you!” Magoon’s bold, angular, digitally rendered drawings capably juggle action, suspense, and comedy. After boy and dragon dash through a patch of flowers and emerge with floral crowns, the boy bursts out laughing. “It’s hard to eat someone when you’re sharing a laugh,” Theodore realizes. By focusing on Theodore’s thoughts and perspective, Lehrhaupt (Chicken in Space) adds unexpected nuance to this David and Goliath story—it’s not clear who’s the aggressor and who’s the victim. What is clear is that size doesn’t matter and laughter trumps fear. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Alexandra Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Smartly designed, the book features bold digital illustrations full of amusing characters and suspense. For much

of the book, only Theodore’s eyes shine out of the cave’s darkness, but they convey

everything readers need to know to catch the spirit of the story. As the well-paced,

entertaining tale unfolds, the seasons quietly change in the background, and the

endpapers show the meaningful transformation of the gray leafless area surrounding

Theodore’s cave into a lush and colorful landscape—a metaphor for Theodore’s

own blossoming through friendship

The Horn Book

The dark color palette and mischievous nature of the text are reminiscent of Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back (2011)—albeit with a different final outcome.

Booklist

The dark color palette and mischievous nature of the text are reminiscent of Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back (2011)—albeit with a different final outcome.

Booklist

11/01/2016
PreS-Gr 1—Theodore hides in his solitary cave, pondering several possible meals, but lacks the appetite to eat the bird, the goat, or the tiger. However, when a boy dressed as a knight gallops up to his cave and proceeds to poke at Theodore with his sword, he decides he definitely should eat the child. Then something unexpected happens. The boy falls down and starts to laugh, which makes Theodore begin to laugh as well. It's hard to eat someone when you're sharing a laugh. Soon his cave is quiet because Theodore is out playing with his new friend…but maybe he'll eat him later. The full-bleed illustrations are saturated with rich, dark colors but manage never to be scary. With several humorous twists, lots of imaginative play, and illustrations reminiscent of Maurice Sendak's in Where the Wild Things Are, this is a surefire read-aloud hit. VERDICT Highly recommended for storytime and one-on one sharing.—Jessica Marie, Salem Public Library, OR

School Library Journal

2016-06-22
A cave-dwelling monster named Theodore ponders potential foodstuffs.Two enormous oval eyes peer out of a dark cave's entrance, glowing pink in the sunrise, yellow in the morning light, and teal in the evening light. As various animals—a wolf, a bird, and a tiger—pass in front, Theodore considers eating each one but decides he's not that hungry and utters the titular refrain: "I will not eat you." A small white boy dressed in a blue hoodie and mud-splashed galoshes and wielding a metal trashcan-lid shield trots up to the cave on a hobbyhorse. He shines his flashlight into the cave and roars a great roar at Theodore. "Seriously?" thinks Theodore. "I should eat it." Thus begins an epic battle between a pretend knight and what readers finally see to be a massive, horned, bearded red dragon. As Lehrhaupt spins this tale with deadpan humor, readers never fear for the boy. Magoon's exuberant art recalls classic characters, most particularly Max in his wolf suit. The digital illustrations emulate mixed-media images: some leaves resemble block prints, and short, thin, penlike highlights enliven the animals' fur. The text is hand-lettered. As the action escalates, Theodore becomes festooned with flowers that reflect the bright yellow glow of the flashlight's beam. The palette, though dark, is never menacing. Fanciful pretend play for the dragon-slaying preschooler. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews