Dinosaurs, pop-ups and flaps to lift—what could be better? (Picture book. 2-5)
Barry’s latest interactive text appeals to the youngest of dinosaur aficionados, presenting them with some very basic facts about how dinosaurs lived.
Through a pseudo–question-and-answer format, readers are given the opportunity to ponder their own answers to the author’s wonderings: “I wonder why minmi is watching her eggs. / Her eggs are hatching.” One or two sentences in a smaller font give more information: “Dinosaurs laid eggs in nests on the ground.” As the text progresses, children learn what dinosaurs ate, how big they were, how they might have defended themselves and communicated, what is left of them today and how fossils are found. Barry uses the words “may” and “might” liberally, remarking that scientists are still learning. The 12 featured prehistoric beasts include a nice mix of popular/lesser-known, large/small, land/sea/air and vegetarian/carnivore. While Barry’s illustrations are brightly colored to attract young children’s attention, the textures of the papers used in the collages more closely echo those found in nature. But the real draw will be the interactive features—smack Ankylosaurus’ tail club, watch Pterodactylus spread his wings and open two flaps to get a sense of just how long Diplodocus was. Endpapers serve as a pronunciation guide, give some quick facts and feature dinosaur silhouettes in sizes proportionate to one another so readers can get an idea of their relative sizes.
Dinosaurs, pop-ups and flaps to lift—what could be better? (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5354-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Parents looking for an engaging story to share with a new big brother or sister will do well to skip this one and choose...
In rhyming verse, dinosaur parents review with an older sibling the rules of life with a new baby in the house.
In this preachy, didactic offering, a small dinosaur is reminded to be quiet upon awakening in the morning so as not to wake the new baby and not to play rough or snatch away toys. This occupies the first half of the book. The most entertaining and positive pages follow, in which the parents encourage the little dinosaur to teach the baby new things, like how to stomp and roar. They quickly return, however, to their tiresome admonitions, warning the child to be quiet at bedtime. The illustrations are bold, expressive and, in some instances, endearing, but overall, they work to emphasize the negative tone of the text. For instance, the only page spread that is not part of the verse features a big, angry-looking dinosaur mama glaring at a chastened child while the baby screams in the bassinette. The word “shhhhhh!” is scrawled in large letters across the right-hand page.
Parents looking for an engaging story to share with a new big brother or sister will do well to skip this one and choose something with a little spunk—like Jacqueline Woodson and Sophie Blackall’s Pecan Pie Baby (2010) or Marla Frazee’s The Boss Baby (2010)—instead. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61963-151-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
A simple, engaging tale, with a subtle lesson.
Can a boy find a place for his new best friend, a misfit mammoth?
One night, there's a knock at the door, and the little narrator, very small in striped pajamas, opens it to find… Mammoth! Mammoth is baby blue with pink inner ears and "as big as the biggest truck and hairier than a yak." Also, he looks hungry; the boy feeds him fish sticks and peas right from the freezer (Mammoth is too big to fit through the door). Things go downhill from there. While taking a nap in the garden, the mammoth flattens Dad's shed; at the park he crushes the swing; and he empties the swimming pool with a single dive. He even has an "accident" all over a car; the driver declares, "This town is no place for a mammoth!" What to do? Just when things seem hopeless, the boy sees a broken-down bus in the distance, full of stranded children and a distraught driver. Mammoth has a great idea; he carries everyone home. Now everyone wants to be his friend. And Dad says Mammoth can live with them after all. Hall's prose captures the wide-eyed simplicity of the very young, and his illustrations, using watercolor paints, pencil, and graphite stick, seem both warmed and washed with whimsy.
A simple, engaging tale, with a subtle lesson. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-907967-22-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boxer Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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