Review: Wonderfully-illustrated and highly imaginative journey
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 16, 2014
Chris Robertson has written and illustrated a wonderfully whimsical picture book that has the main character, Harry, frantically attempting to avoid the hot lava which is flowing all over the floors in his house. We see Harry (inspired by the author’s own son, Benton) ducking into the bathtub, jumping onto a coffee table, trying to balance on one unaffected tile in the kitchen, and cowering on the top bunk of a bunkbed trying to escape the dangerous red-hot liquid. Phew!  Even I was nervous for the little boy in the story (don’t worry, nobody gets harmed!)The book features the amazing artistry of Chris Robinson who has most recently penned and illustrated the widely-acclaimed picture book My Yellow Umbrella.  In his distinctive style, Robertson has us leaping, ducking, and carefully avoiding “the hottest most dangerous liquid known to man” along with Harry. FANTASTIC ILLUSTRATIONS!  As an extra delight, the author even makes a cameo appearance in the book at the very end.My Bottom Line:  Harry and the Hot Lava is a wonderfully-illustrated and highly imaginative journey into the mind of Harry, a young boy playing “don’t step in the lava” – a timeless game with many variations, gleefully played by children all over the world. I highly recommend this clever book to children ages 3 to 8 and encourage parents to feed their own imaginations and join their kids in a game of “Don’t Step In The Lava!”