Spotting a passing dinosaur from his bedroom window one night, young Bobby follows it to a square surrounded by tall, dark office buildings where a host of dinos has gathered for a wild rumpus. Jobling, creative director of PBS’s “Bob the Builder,” creates big, blocky cartoons featuring simplified but recognizable dinosaurs, each a single, bright color, sporting with a pajama-clad lad until he drifts off and is tenderly borne back to bed. Emmett (Bringing Down the Moon, 2001, etc.) himself drifts between prose and verse in telling the tale, which makes for abrupt, awkward changes in rhythm. He cites Where the Wild Things Are as his inspiration, but when it comes to emotional or psychological depth, he misses the boat there too. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-307-41179-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Golden Books/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pure pleasure for children addicted to dinos, the delights of big trucks and decoding visual jumbles.
A teeming dino crew in hard hats and safety vests create organized if frenetic chaos on a mucky construction site in this alpha-romp.
The 16 full-bleed digital collages are jammed with hundreds of sharply reproduced images and photos of hand tools, heavy machinery, construction materials, litter and hidden letters, as well as flying glop of various sorts. Within them, a swarm of grimacing, toothy cartoon monsters convert a trash-filled empty lot into an urban playground. Rhymed, if not always regular, stanzas of alliterative text provide a heavy background beat: “Trample rock with this track paver. / Toss in tar! A true time-saver! / Towering torches and twisting necks. / Teetering, tottering tons of high tech!” Whether peeking out of a port-a-potty, racing lumbering earth movers or putting their “[j]umbo blubber in a wiggle” with jackhammers, the well-larded laborers are easily identifiable thanks to a labeled opening gallery (with bananas or steaks added to indicate dietary preferences). Along with the aforementioned hidden alphabet—plus dozens of other items listed at the back—the pictures are chock-full of funny side business for young eyes to pick out too.
Pure pleasure for children addicted to dinos, the delights of big trucks and decoding visual jumbles. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-087960-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young dino-hunters, on the other hand, never had it so good.
Mr. Magoo has nothing on young George’s grandfather, who manages to miss nearly 100 dinosaurs concealed (or not) in the pictures illustrating this visit to a remote volcanic island.
In broadly brushed watercolors, Moseley depicts the two explorers (and George’s basset, Meg) taking a quick trip in a hot-air balloon and wandering through woodsy settings. Throughout, they are surrounded by dinosaurs of various recognizable but unidentified sorts that either stand in plain view or are slightly concealed within the lines of rocks, tree trunks and other natural features. An Apatosaurus, for instance, is hidden in the curving lines of a mountain range; less trickily, a flock of pterosaurs escorts them on their approach to the island. Many of the creatures are also embossed or outlined in a slightly raised plastic overlay that can be felt or spotted by tilting the page to catch shiny reflections. Though George and Meg have no trouble spotting dinosaur sign, Grandpa misses it all and makes a disappointed comment as the three visitors sail homeward.
Young dino-hunters, on the other hand, never had it so good. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4027-8894-9
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2012
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf