Book review: ‘Lizard from the Park’ by Mark Pett shares adventures of boy who finds an egg
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"LIZARD FROM THE PARK," by Mark Pett, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, $17.99, 40 pages (ages 4-8)
When Leonard takes a new way through the park in “Lizard from the Park” by author and illustrator Mark Pett, he finds a large egg and takes it to his home in a very tall building.
The egg hatches — and inside is a lizard that he names Buster. While Leonard and Buster are best friends and do practically everything together, the lizard keeps growing and needs to be disguised. But Buster seems to be unhappy.
Leonard gets an idea to help Buster that involves balloons and the annual Thanksgiving Day parade.
It’s a fun story about friendship and also about what it means to be at home, whether in a tall building or deep in the park, along with using imagination to help friends.
And finding an egg may take on a new meaning for some children.
Pett’s illustrations of what is presumably New York City show some of the city’s sites from a child’s perspective.
Pett is also the “authorstrator” of “The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes” and the wordless picture books “The Girl and the Bicycle” and “The Boy and the Airplane.”
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