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Ben Zhu
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Dessert Island Hardcover – Picture Book, May 25, 2021

by Ben Zhu (Author, Illustrator)
See all formats and editions
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Ben Zhu's Dessert Island is an irresistible picture book about sharing and caring.

Monkey is on a dessert island. It is made of frosting, berries, and other delicious things.

Fox is on a desert island. It is made of dirt, rocks, and sand.

But as time goes on, their fortunes change, and Monkey and Fox discover that no animal is an island.

This wonderfully layered story has themes of consumption and conservation at its center, and wraps up with a sweet and satisfying ending.

Previous page
  1. Reading age
    3 - 6 years
  2. Print length
    40 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    Preschool and up
  5. Lexile measure
    AD200L
  6. Dimensions
    10.24 x 0.45 x 10.18 inches
  7. Publisher
    Roaring Brook Press
  8. Publication date
    May 25, 2021
  9. ISBN-10
    1250763304
  10. ISBN-13
    978-1250763303
  11. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This picture-book debut blends poignant themes of sharing and selflessness... a beautiful and universal message of kindness and community." ―School Library Journal, starred review

“A page-turner . . . with an ending that is certifiably sweet.” ―Publishers Weekly

“A guileless parable about having your cake and eating it too.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Ben Zhu offers a charming and thoughtful debut about turning lemons into lemonade.” ―Dan Santat, Caldecott winning author of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

"Viewers... will appreciate the spare, repetitive phrasing of the dialogue-only text (“I can’t eat one more bite”), and they’ll want to try reading the easy words on their own. The main draw, though, are the illustrations, acrylic and colored pencil glowing with sunset colors and toy-store charm..." ―The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Zhu packs a rich story and message into remarkably few but carefully chosen words." ―Booklist

About the Author

Ben Zhu is an illustrator who, after working in the video game industry, founded Gallery Nucleus in 2004, an art gallery and bookshop devoted to illustration, animation, and narrative art with locations in Los Angeles and Portland. Born in Beijing, he moved to the US at age 7 and now lives in Southern California with his wife, daughter, and extremely old pet chow chow. Dessert Island is his first picture book.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Roaring Brook Press (May 25, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 40 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250763304
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250763303
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 3 - 6 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ AD200L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.24 x 0.45 x 10.18 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

About the author

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Ben Zhu

Ben Zhu

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Ben Zhu is an illustrator, who after working in the video game industry, founded Nucleus (aka Gallery Nucleus) in 2004, an art gallery and bookshop devoted to illustration, animation, and narrative art, with locations in Los Angeles and Portland. Born in Beijing, he moved to the United States at age seven and now lives in Southern California with his wife, daughter, two ducks and an extremely old chow chow.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
12 global ratings
Very sweet and beautifully illustrated
5 Stars
Very sweet and beautifully illustrated
A lovely, very sweet book about friendship with gorgeous drawings. My 3yr old really enjoyed the cake island!
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Top reviews from the United States

Akemi012
5.0 out of 5 stars Cute book with an important message and beautiful illustrations
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is such a cute book! The wording is simple but I love the concepts of how quickly fortunes can change, how we can “lucky” in many different ways, and the importance of friendship and sharing what you have. The illustrations are gorgeous. My 6 year old son loved it and enjoys reading it to himself!
One person found this helpful
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Catharine Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars Little life lessons
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2021
Verified Purchase
Loved this book for my children age 5 & 9. There were so many layers of what the author wanted to convey and both children took away lessons from this book. My daughter loved the illustrations. A beautifully written children’s book.
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Fischer Family
5.0 out of 5 stars So Adorable!
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2021
Monkey and Fox find themselves stranded on separate islands. Fox on a bare desert island, Monkey on a lush... dessert island.
Each of them finds things to do, eating or planting. But when the rain comes it's a blessing for one and a disaster for the other.
It encourages thankfulness and helping others even when it means giving something up. Monkey and Fox are the kind of good example characters that grownups like to share with kids, and are also ones that kids find engaging and silly and want to revisit.
One person found this helpful
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CC
5.0 out of 5 stars Very sweet and beautifully illustrated
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2021
A lovely, very sweet book about friendship with gorgeous drawings. My 3yr old really enjoyed the cake island!
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CC
5.0 out of 5 stars Very sweet and beautifully illustrated
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2021
A lovely, very sweet book about friendship with gorgeous drawings. My 3yr old really enjoyed the cake island!
Images in this review
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Andrew Yu
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2021
It is a heartfelt story. A children's book classic!
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AmazonCustomer
3.0 out of 5 stars A fun concept, but...
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2022
We got this from the library, but when I asked my kids if they wanted me to read it again for before returning it, they said no. I like the dessert/desert concept, but it didn't have a resonating impact beyond that.
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Carol Gordon Ekster
4.0 out of 5 stars Great picture book to share with a child
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2021
Love the comparison of perspectives and the wonderful illustrations showing so much expression.
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