Tiny Barbarian by Ame Dyckman (review)

Out for a stroll with his family, Tiny passes a poster for an action movie and decides that, like the movie's protagonist, he's going to be a barbarian. Armed with a helmet (the traditional colander), a club (a paper-towel roll), and a cape (a contour bathroom rug), he's ready to "conquer everything! (Well, everything in his backyard)." He defeats the backyard enemies (dragon, troll, broccoli) with a mighty "bop," but once night falls and he's tucked in bed, he faces a more challenging enemy ("How do I bop the dark?"). Fortunately, the scary noise amid the gloom turns out to be his kitten, and he and Kitty snuggle up for dreams of more conquering tomorrow. The pithy and playful text will make for an energetic readaloud, even a high-voltage early entry in a bedtime sequence that ramps down to something more soothing. Digital art is cleanly composed and the figures in Tiny's mixedrace family are modeled with a three-dimensional flavor; details of Tiny's toys and drawings underscore his barbarian nature and add humor, while sharp-eyed viewers will notice the disappearance of his loyal kitty sidekick come the bedtime scenes and rejoice at the reunion of the boon companions. Safe social distancing will help preclude a barbarian melee amid the audience, but this could also be used at home with appropriate weapons to hand for kids determined to go to boppage town.