Lizard from the Park

PreS-Gr 2—One day Leonard decides to take a shortcut home from school through the "deepest, darkest part of the park" and spots a big egg, unlike anything he has seen before. He takes it home to his top-floor apartment and plays with it all afternoon. Eventually, he snuggles up with it as he goes to bed. The next morning, the egg hatches and a lizard bursts through the shell. Leonard dubs him Buster and together, the friends travel all over the city, ride the subway, read in front of the New York Public Library, and visit the Museum of Natural History. However, Buster is getting larger and larger and seems less happy than before. Leonard tries many things to help Buster fit in and enjoy the city, but Buster continues to grow and grow; he needs to be with his family again in the "deepest, darkest part of the park." In the fall, Leonard gathers up all the balloons he can find, joins the Thanksgiving Day parade and floats Buster back home. Leonard still cuts through the park sometimes, but along the way he discovers a new friend, one who has cleverly been hidden on the book's pages watching the action all along. Created with charcoal and painted digitally, the illustrations are softly drawn, and the layout of the text is easy on the eye.