The Guys from Dragons Love Tacos Have a Saucy New Book Out

Though we're business partners, Will Pearson and I disagree about plenty of things. He likes to run, while I’m very lazy. He thinks it makes sense to eat M&Ms in even numbers, with the colors evenly split between the left and right side of your mouth; I skip the M&Ms and just stuff as many gummy bears into my face as possible. And when reading books to each of our five-year-olds, his favorite Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri book is Dragons Love Tacos, while I love Secret Pizza Party. But there might be room to compromise. Today, the bestselling authors have a brand new book out: Robo-Sauce, and if you’ve got kids, you should get your hands on a copy.

This summer, we posted a Q&A with Adam Rubin, and one of the things I commented on was how different the tone of the pair's books were—that there was this wonderful sense of mischief layered into the narration. Their stories struck me as really talking to kids instead of talking at them. Rubin’s response has stayed with me: “I've heard [the tone] described as 'conspiratorial' and I like that. It's like the older brother who lets you in on a secret but doesn't actually know what he's talking about. The narrator often plays a part in the story and is kind of in cahoots with the reader.”

Robo-Sauce

is similarly wonderful, but it has an extra layer of crazy. When the main character spills Robo-Sauce on the book, the cover folds over and it turns the whole book into a shiny, metallic Robo-book. Rubin and Salmieri are wildly imaginative (you can see their trailer below), and their new book has quickly elbowed its way into my family’s nightly rotation. You can order a copy here, or check it out at your local library.