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STEGOTHESAURUS

The premise may not be exactly new (see, for instance, Laya Steinberg’s Thesaurus Rex, illustrated by Debbie Harter, 2003),...

When a stegothesaurus meets an allothesaurus, the results can be dicey, hazardous, problematical.

Unlike his mostly monosyllabic kin, Stegothesaurus relishes words as well as shrubbery—not just “Yummy,” but “Savory, succulent, scrumptious.” So it is that when a predator attacks he can’t gallop off until he comes up with a suitable “F-f-f-frightening, formidable, fearsome.” To his amazement, his toothy adversary responds, “Hulking, hefty, humongous.” Yes, she’s not a common allosaurus but an “allothesaurus” and seemingly a kindred soul. In the very simply drawn cartoon scenes, McBeth pins bow ties on the prehistoric pedants (the allothesaurus has dainty eyelashes) and sends them off together on an orgy of synonymizing. It looks like the beginning of a beautiful, lovely, resplendent friendship…until Stegothesaurus asks how Allothesaurus learned so many words and she admits that it must have been that other stegothesaurus she ate. Uh-oh. It’s a good time, moment, instant to “Ruuuuuuuuuuuuun!” Happily, Heos lets her wordy, prolix, logorrheic dino survive to munch another day.

The premise may not be exactly new (see, for instance, Laya Steinberg’s Thesaurus Rex, illustrated by Debbie Harter, 2003), but exercises in clever wordplay are always fresh, animated, enlivening. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: June 12, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-250-13488-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018

Awards & Accolades

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  • New York Times Bestseller


  • Caldecott Honor Book

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THEY ALL SAW A CAT

A solo debut for Wenzel showcasing both technical chops and a philosophical bent.

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

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  • New York Times Bestseller


  • Caldecott Honor Book

Wouldn’t the same housecat look very different to a dog and a mouse, a bee and a flea, a fox, a goldfish, or a skunk?

The differences are certainly vast in Wenzel’s often melodramatic scenes. Benign and strokable beneath the hand of a light-skinned child (visible only from the waist down), the brindled cat is transformed to an ugly, skinny slinker in a suspicious dog’s view. In a fox’s eyes it looks like delectably chubby prey but looms, a terrifying monster, over a cowering mouse. It seems a field of colored dots to a bee; jagged vibrations to an earthworm; a hairy thicket to a flea. “Yes,” runs the terse commentary’s refrain, “they all saw the cat.” Words in italics and in capital letters in nearly every line give said commentary a deliberate cadence and pacing: “The cat walked through the world, / with its whiskers, ears, and paws… // and the fish saw A CAT.” Along with inviting more reflective viewers to ruminate about perception and subjectivity, the cat’s perambulations offer elemental visual delights in the art’s extreme and sudden shifts in color, texture, and mood from one page or page turn to the next.

A solo debut for Wenzel showcasing both technical chops and a philosophical bent. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4521-5013-0

Page Count: 44

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016

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ROT, THE BRAVEST IN THE WORLD!

Cute and brave—gee, Rot’s spud-tacular!

A “scaredy-spud” puts on his brave face.

All “mutant potatoes” love mud. Mud is good for playing games, eating, and even sleeping. But few taters have more tender feelings toward muck than Rot. À la Pete the Cat, Rot celebrates mud in song: “Mud between my toes! / Mud in my nose! / Mud is GREAT / wherever it GOES!” When Rot’s big brother, Snot, tells Rot about the Squirm that lives “deep down in the mushy muck,” his love quickly turns to fear. But he doesn’t give up! Instead, Rot imagines himself in various disguises to work up courage. There’s “Super Spud” (a superhero), “Sir Super Rot, the Brave and Bold” (a superhero-knight), and even “Sir Super Rot the Pigtato” (a, um, superhero-knight-pig-potato). The disguises are one thing, but, deep down, is Rot really brave enough to face the Squirm? Readers wooed by Rot’s charm in Rot: The Cutest in the World (2017) will laugh out loud at this well-paced encore—and it’s not just because of the butt cracks. Clanton creates a winning dynamic, balancing Rot’s earnestness, witty dialogue, and an omniscient, slightly melodramatic narrator. The cartoon illustrations were created using watercolors, colored pencils, digital collage, and—brilliantly—potato stamps. Clanton’s reliance on earth tones makes for some clever, surprising page turns when the palette is broken.

Cute and brave—gee, Rot’s spud-tacular! (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: June 16, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-4814-6764-3

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020

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