Unfortunately, quality titles about Mardi Gras for young readers are scarce, and this one doesn’t fit the bill.
Wedding two topics with kid appeal—in this case dinosaurs and Mardi Gras—does not always result in a winning combination.
The stanzas in de Las Casas’ latest offering are written in the cadence of the famous song “Mardi Gras Mambo” that fills the streets of Louisiana every year during carnival season. Each stanza ends the way the song lyrics do, with the phrase “Down in New Orleans.” While this promising strategy should have readers bopping their heads and singing the words out loud, the awkward rhythm and rhyme cause the tale to fall decidedly flat. Take, for example, what should be a rousing finale: “T-Rex waves goodbye until next year / The happy crowd chants a carnival cheer / It’s a jumping Dinosaur Mardi Gras / Hooray for all the jaws and claws.” Additionally, the multisyllabic and difficult-to-pronounce dinosaur names that pepper the text don’t exactly trip off the tongue, a fact that would make sharing the story with groups of children a challenge. What’s more, Gentry’s watercolor illustrations feature what appear to be angry and confused creatures barreling down New Orleans streets. All are bedecked with beads, and some sport eyeglasses, crowns, umbrellas and boots, but their expressions, for the most part, don’t suggest that they are enjoying this experience.
Unfortunately, quality titles about Mardi Gras for young readers are scarce, and this one doesn’t fit the bill. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-58980-966-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pelican
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011
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BOOK REVIEW
Proving even pooped piggies are ready to party, this will make children want to join in.
A noisy barnyard is no place for a nap!
Poor pig, all he wants to do is take a short snooze. However, there seems to be something going on around him. Each of his farm friends is making noise of one kind or another. “Hen wants to saw.” “Dog wants to tap.” “Hog wants to hum.” Pig looks closer and closer to fainting from exhaustion until he spies some drinking straws and has an idea. He sinks himself in his mud puddle and breathes through a straw snorkel. He’s finally able to catch some Z’s…but all those barnyard noises had a purpose: prep for a piggy birthday celebration. So much for napping! Long’s entry in the I Like to Read series tells its simple tale in 47 words, nearly all of which are of the single-syllable, easy-to-sound-out variety. Bright pastel-and-primary full-bleed illustrations featuring big-eyed farm folk will keep eyes on the page during storytime or guided independent reading. The visual humor and the easy-reading text make this a winner for readers just starting out.
Proving even pooped piggies are ready to party, this will make children want to join in. (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2428-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2012
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.
With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?
Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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