Howdy, friends!
It’s time for the weekly Perfect Picture Book round-up!
Today I have a wonderful book that manages to combine a meaningful theme with great humor. I hope you will love it!
Title: Randy, The Badly Drawn Horse
Written & Illustrated By: T. L. McBeth
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co, August 2020, fiction
Suitable For Ages: 4-8
Themes/Topics: metafiction, unconditional love, humor, expectations
Opening: “‘Mom! Look!
I drew a beautiful horse!’
‘He is beautiful! Great job, dear!’
I am a beautiful horse! Everyone loves me.”
Brief Synopsis: Randy knows he’s a beautiful horse―everyone says so. From his flowing mane to his long, elegant legs, to his perfect smile that lights up the sky! But while on a grand adventure, he catches sight of himself and suddenly he’s not so sure…
Links To Resources: 7 Imagination Activities For Kids; 10 Hands-On Activities To Teach Kids About Love; draw a picture of something you love and make up an adventure
Why I Like This Book: I love the creativity and imagination of the child drawing Randy and then sending him on an adventure, and the humor of Randy’s responses to having to deal with the situations he’s put in (cleaning up the mess when the child makes him a great chef, pulling himself out of the crevasse (which is actually the spine of the book), dragging his thirsty self along when he ends up in the desert. His whole vision of himself is based on the child’s initial description of him as beautiful and the mom’s agreement, so when he sees his reflection he is taken aback, suddenly unsure of himself. But unconditional love wins out and Randy understands that to his child creator (and therefore to himself) he truly is beautiful. This is a delightful book that will have kids laughing out loud, but also empathizing with Randy’s moment of self-doubt. . . because we’ve all been there.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Susanna, you find the greatest books. I hadn’t seen this one. But boy can my inner kid identify with this story. I can’t wait to get a hold of it. Thanks!
I love it, Maria – it is so delightful and humorous!
I hadn’t heard of this one, Susanna, but I’ll be on the lookout now. Who doesn’t love a story about a beautiful horse!
You know me, Patricia – I love ALL horse stories 😊
Oooh, I love some meta fiction. And the character thwarted by the book crease?? That is just the best kind of clever.
I know, isn’t that fun, Candice? And he’s so amusing in his attempt to free himself!
I adore meta books. I can’t wait to find this one. Thank you for sharing.
I’m glad you like them too, David! I also love This Book Just Ate My Dog by Richard Byrne – another stuck in the spine story 😊 I can’t remember if I’ve done it for PPBF – maybe I should do it next week! 😊
I love Randy!
I followed T.L. on social media after he illustrated “Stegothesaurus” by Bridget Heos so that I would hear about all his funny, clever books! So glad Randy is gaining fans!
I know! Isn’t Randy awesome, Cathy? I love how he just assumes that Randy must be the most refined and sophisticated of names, reserved for only the most special of creatures 😊
This is so wonderful! So usable in primary classrooms! I will be introducing this to my early childhood education students! What a find! Thanks Susanna, you continue to introduce us to books that inspire and books that just work to speak to children’s lives!!!
I forgot to mention that the endpapers have steps on how to draw a horse! I better go back and add that in! 😊 Glad you like it, Sally – I really do!
I am so excited to see this book! I had a manuscript that has similarities but I shelved it when I couldn’t figure out a story arc. Maybe this will be a mentor text of inspiration.
Oh, I hope so, Laura! Good luck with it!
Such a clever story that will make kids giggle. This book will inspire kids to draw and create their own stories. Such fun!
It really is fun, Pat – I love a story that makes me laugh 😊
This book sounds fun! Maybe we should get rid of all the mirrors in the world, LOL, but I suppose there are many ways to doubt oneself, yes? This one flew below my radar, so thank you for featuring it, Susanna! Adding it to my TBR list. Cheers!
I hope you like it as much as I do, Jilanne!
Love the humor in this book – so clever!
I know, Julie – isn’t it great? Such fun!
What a wonderful way to build self-confidence without even knowing it!
Thank you, Susanna, for bringing this brilliant book to our attention.
Have a great weekend!
I hope you like it! Have a great weekend too!
This sounds delightful and truly unique! I look forward to reading this adventure, hopefully to my Kindergartners.
I think they’ll really like it, Ingrid – it’s so cute and funny!
This looks so fun. Thanks for sharing this. I can hardly wait to read it.
It’s so cute, Deborah – I think you’ll love it 😊