Common Sense Media Review
Adults may relate to perils of shopping with kids.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Dragon shirt! Even children with a limited vocabulary can be defiant when it comes to shopping for clothes. Max begs his sister, Ruby, to buy this special shirt with their limited funds. But Ruby insists Max needs new pants instead. Through a series of events, Max gets his dragon shirt. However, his actions and the outcome lack a meaningful connection.
Is It Any Good?
Rosemary Wells creates adorable cartoon-type illustrations and includes greater background detail than most illustrators who adopt this style; also, each cute story has a lesson. Wells effectively portrays the emotions in the characters' faces, and the illustrations are clear enough to help beginning readers as they use clues from the pictures to decipher the text.
Taken to the store by Ruby to replace his dirty, worn-out overalls, Max insists he wants a dragon shirt instead. It seems obvious that there is something to be learned from the characters' mischievous behavior, but the moral gets lost in all the commotion. Max eventually tries on a dragon shirt, which becomes covered in ice cream, and therefore they are forced to buy it. Max does get what he wants, but not in the manner in which a parent would like.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Max and Ruby's behavior. Was Ruby a responsible big sister on the shopping trip?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Rosemary Wells
- Genre : Picture Book
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Penguin Group
- Publication date : January 1, 1991
- Number of pages : 22
- Last updated : November 15, 2019
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate