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DINOSAUR VS. MOMMY

Name: DINOSAUR VS. MOMMY
Author: Bob Shea
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6086-1

From the Dinosaur vs… series

by Bob Shea ; illustrated by Bob Shea ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2015

Treat a pack of preschoolers (and their mommies) to this title and eagerly await Dinosaur’s next adventure.

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Shea continues his wildly popular series with this offering, but who will win: Dinosaur or Mommy?

On the cover, Dinosaur seems unusually tame, smitten even. But notice what he is using to draw such lovely pink pictures—Mommy’s lipstick! From the beginning page Dinosaur goes roaring through the house. His first challenge is to wake up Mommy when she is sleeping in. The clock reads 7:00. Needless to say, Dinosaur wins. The day progresses as Dinosaur contends with Mommy’s shower, errands, laundry, bath, and bedtime preparations. Young fans will laugh and parents’ eyes will roll at Dinosaur’s antics, such as trying to flush his toys down the toilet and demanding every sugary food at the grocery. It doesn’t look good for Mommy. “Now Dinosaur will unleash his signature move! A move more powerful than any mommy!” The page turn reveals the silhouette of a collapsed Mommy in a chair. “Is Mommy down for the count? Is Dinosaur too much for Mommy?” Another turn of the page shows how “Mommy wins!” The energy of this fast-paced tale matches that of any amped-up toddler, with lots of exclamation points, bright colors, and thick, black lines that swiftly define the plentiful action.

Treat a pack of preschoolers (and their mommies) to this title and eagerly await Dinosaur’s next adventure. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: March 3, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4231-6086-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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OH, ARE YOU AWAKE?
by Bob Shea ; illustrated by Jarvis

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STINKBIRD HAS A SUPERPOWER
by Jill Esbaum ; illustrated by Bob Shea

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THE GREAT TRUCK SWITCHEROO
by Bob Shea ; illustrated by Brian Won

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

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A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 9, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
CON POLLO
by Jimmy Fallon & Jennifer Lopez ; illustrated by Andrea Campos

- SEEN & HEARD
Jimmy Fallon Christmas Book Coming This Fall

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OLIVER AND HIS EGG

by Paul Schmid ; illustrated by Paul Schmid ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2014

Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for...

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Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion.

“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads; Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Their adventures include sharing treats, sailing the seas and going into outer space. A classmate’s yell brings him back to reality, where readers see him sitting on top of a rock. Even considering Schmid’s scribbly style, readers can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he ponders the girl and whether or not to give up his solitary play. “But when Oliver found his rock… // Oliver imagined many adventures // with all his friends!” This last is on a double gatefold that opens to show the children enjoying the creature’s slippery curves. A final wordless spread depicts all the children sitting on rocks, expressions gleeful, wondering, waiting, hopeful. The illustrations, done in pastel pencil and digital color, again make masterful use of white space and page turns, although this tale is not nearly as funny or tongue-in-cheek as Oliver and His Alligator (2013), nor is its message as clear and immediately accessible to children.

Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for all children but sadly isn’t. (Picture book. 3-5)