I can't believe I did this, but I noticed a couple of months ago that there was a new B.C.R. Fegan book out and since TaleBlade didn't offer one to me, I ponied up a little cash for it. Clearly, TaleBlade's following a tried and true business model, get someone hooked on some free samples and they'll pay for more (and I'll happily do it again).

This is the story of Reginald, a pleasant-seeming bookstore owner who loves to read in quiet when not selling books. One day he hears a mouse in his shop and goes about setting a series of traps, each more complicated than the last, to catch it. He can't have a little animal ruining his peaceful reading time. The mouse is cleverer than any outside of animation or children's literature so it evades the traps -- up to and including a Rube Goldberg-esque device—leading to calamities for Reginald and his customers. Whatever will Reginald do? How will he enjoy a book?

Maybe it's just me, but the text seems a bit denser than is typical for a Fegan book. Not dense as in complicated, don't worry, this is still picture book territory. But there seems to be more of it—a more involved story than usual. That's not good or bad—just an observation. I didn't find it as full of whimsy as usual, but it's an okay story.

Liem's illustrations are beautiful, incredibly detailed, and will likely keep young readers captivated. I'm not sure if it's different in the hard copy or not, but it seems to me that they don't always sync properly with the text—sometimes depicting events the text hasn't gotten to for a couple of pages. That bothered me a bit, but it's not a deal-breaker.

A charming little tale, but didn't seem to have the typical Fegan magic. Which isn't to say it's a bad book, just not a great one. Not every hit has to be a home-run or triple, a good on-base single gets the job done, and that's what we have here (and probably a month's worth of sports analogies for me). A cute little book that will be a favorite of some kids, I have no doubt, but that didn't have the magic some of Fegan's others do. I recommend it, but I know he's done better, so get those, too.

Things are going bad for poor Jet -- his teacher has noticed that he hasn't finished his assignment of writing out the Alphabet. So he explains to Mrs. May that he did, in fact, do it, but . . . well, did you read the title? A ran away.

From there, Jet goes on to explain why each letter isn't on his paper. D was scared, I just didn't want to, something nefarious might have gone on with L, and so on. Each letter gets its own page with a fantastic picture personification and a line or two describing (in rhyme) why that letter didn't make it onto the work.

Wen's art is never not delightful, but I really enjoyed this one and have flipped through it a couple of times just to look at the drawings -- I love the T and O characters in particular. I'm not sure I can describe it, it might take away from the value if I could -- but T's teeth are about the best bit of art I've seen this month. The details he fills the pages with are wonderful, eye-catching and will entertain adults as much as kids.

I'm a little surprised that I've become, at this stage in my life (my kids are teenagers or older) to become a fan of picture book creators -- but these two have turned me into one. This book demonstrates why. Typical of Fegan and Wen, The Day A Ran Away this is imaginative, fun, and well-written. I cannot imagine a child of picture book age (and maybe a little older) not being entranced by the art, there's plenty going on for parents/others to point out, and a story that's fun enough to read that someone wouldn't mind repeating a few dozen times -- which is more important than non-parents can realize.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions about this book.

I was excited -- yes, really -- to get the email from TaleBlade asking if I'd like a copy of this book. Fegan/Wen's previous book, <b>Henry and the Hidden Treasure</b>, was one of my favorite books of last year. Could they live up to that one? Thankfully, they could at least come close.

In these pages, Mr. Nicholas Noo takes two children on a tour of "the magical Hotel of Hoo" showing them all the wonderful things in store and repeatedly warning them, "Don't Ever Look Behind Door 32." He shows what's behind every other door in between the warnings, most of which is wonderful, some of which is just . . . odd (which I prefer, really). Unlike Disney's Beast, however, Noo does more than tell the children not to go somewhere, he ultimately tells them why they shouldn't go there.

I can't tell you what a pleasant change that is -- even if this book is intended for kids -- to get a book where a character just tells the others characters everything they need to know to react in a responsible manner. But this isn't the place for that rant (as tempting as it is).

This book isn't as good as last year's <b>Henry and the Hidden Treasure</b> but it's close -- the last page or so of <b>Henry</b> was a sweet note, this ended with a reveal/punchline. Is it bad? No -- not at all, it's just not as good in my eyes. That said, a punchline ending isn't going to satisfy even a 3-4 year old on the 32nd read through (at least not on its own), but Fegan and Wen don't rely on that -- the book is full of jokes, clever lines, visual wonder, and lots of things to pay attention to along the way.

Sure, you want the book to be appealing to kids, but the real key to success for a kid's book is appealing to parents/grandparents/caregivers. They're the ones who have to read, reread, rereread, and rereread again these things. Dr. Seuss and Sandra Boyton enjoy long-lived success because adults enjoy reading them. I think I judge books like this on this standard, but I rarely do it self-consciously. This is one of those books that adults can have fun with even on the fourth "just one more time" of the night. Which has nothing to do with the big reveal at the end, but the trip you take along the way.

Wen's art is just delightful. Really -- the colors are vibrant, the characters look great, there's something extra to grab your eye on every page. (which is also great for adult readers)

I'd say something neat about the typeface -- it's part of the look of the book, it's fair game. But I say anything beyond "even the typeface is great looking" I'll show I have no idea what I'm talking about, so that's all I'm going to say there.

I can honestly say that I never envisioned having this much to say about a 32 page book, but once I got started, I couldn't really stop. I really dug this book, you will, too -- especially if you have kids to read it to.

<i><b>Disclaimer:</b> I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions about this book</i>.

Genre:  Adventure / Imagination / Family / Monsters

Year Published: 2017

Year Read:  2017

Publisher: TaleBlade

I would like to thank the publisher TaleBlade for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

The story is about a young boy named Henry who has received some pocket money from his parents and he ends up hiding the pocket money in his little treasure chest, even though his parents keep telling him that he needs to put his money in the bank. However, Henry has a small problem: he believes that his little sister Lucy is actually a sly ninja who is out to steal his treasure and Henry tries to think up of some schemes that will prevent Lucy from stealing his treasure!

Will Henry be successful in protecting his treasure from Lucy and what kind of tricks will Lucy pull from her sleeves?

Read this book to find out! 

I was actually quite surprised that TaleBlade had offered me a free advanced review copy of this book as I was quite interested in checking out this cute little children’s book from the mind of B.C. R. Fegan! B.C.R. Fegan has done a great job at writing this story as it focuses on Henry trying to protect his precious pocket money from his little sister Lucy and I loved the fact that this story tackles the importance of taking your parents’ advice if said advice is meant to help the child in the long run. I also loved the fact that B.C.R. Fegan focused on the importance of the love shared between siblings as the story relates how Henry would distrust his little sister Lucy in terms of whether or not she would steal his money and I was quite interested in seeing how Henry would solve his dilemma with his little sister Lucy throughout the story. Lenny Wen’s artwork is adorable to look at as the characters are drawn in a rounded and adorable way that made me smile inside! I also loved the fact that Lenny Wen used watercolors to provide a luscious feel to the artwork and they really shine in the images of the monsters themselves, especially of the artwork of the large pink pig that would have helped Henry guard his treasure.



The reason why I took off half a point from the rating was because I felt that there was a bit of a plot hole in this story as I was curious about how Henry got his pocket money (I know it seems a bit odd to know about, but I wanted to know if Henry got his money from house chores or the like). I also wanted to see more moments between Henry and Lucy when Henry is not busy imagining Lucy as a ninja most of the time, since I wanted to see the full extent of their relationship in the real world.

Overall, “Henry and the Hidden Treasure” is a truly cute book for children who want to learn the importance of taking good advice from parents and loving their siblings for all of their faults. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

It'd be easy for this to contain more words than the actual book -- so I'll try to keep it short. Henry's got a little bit of money, and doesn't want his little sister to get it. So he sets up a series of elaborate traps and challenges (think Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Home Alone) to keep her from it.

Along the way, his imagination his on full display and he eventually learns something. There's a very sweet ending that will hopefully teach by example.

I cannot say enough good things about Wen's artwork. It's adorable. It's dynamic. It's simple, but eye-catching. It doesn't detract from the story, but shapes and propels it. There's not a lot of detail, but what's there is important.

For the younger set, I can't imagine how this won't become a favorite. Thankfully, it should be pretty easy for parents to re-read. Amusing story with great art. That's pretty much what you're looking for in this kind of book, right? Available in hard copy and e-book, it's a great buy.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.