This sublime absurdity should please adult readers as much as very young listeners.
How did that mammoth get in there? And how to get rid of it?
Young Noah opens the refrigerator, and...“There’s a mammoth in the fridge!” he cries. The family, sitting calmly at the dinner table, is understandably skeptical. “Come and eat your fries,” Dad calls back. But when he sees the mammoth jammed in tightly, he slams the door and tells Mom to call the fire department. A sturdy red truck speeds through the streets: “Wheee-ooo! Wheee-ooo!” One fireman carries a butterfly net, and the other two hold a big square net, grimly. When the first fireman opens the door, the mammoth escapes, leaving them all tangled in the big net. The mammoth hits the street and, pursued by a small crowd, climbs a tall leafy tree, remaining there long enough for everyone to get tired and leave. “Come on. It’s not our problem,” says Noah’s father. Night falls; the mammoth hears “Here, kitty, kitty” and is enticed to come down by a cute little girl named Elsa brandishing a bunch of carrots. She lures him home to her room, where he goes to sleep on the rug...right next to the unicorn, sea monster and dinosaur. With minimal lines, abundant white space and a retro palette, each of Maudet’s illustrations suggests a stand-alone cartoon, nicely in tune with Escoffier’s deadpan drollery.
This sublime absurdity should please adult readers as much as very young listeners. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-8775-7950-9
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
In the crowded field of dinosaur-themed children’s books, this one does not shine.
Do you want to celebrate your birthday with dinosaurs?
“Dinosaurs are BIG and strong. / They’re clumsy and they’re FARTY,” we’re told. “So do you really want them coming / to your birthday party?” A birthday banner drapes across the gutter, while full-bleed art depicts a diverse group of partygoers surrounded by dinos and looking perturbed (one child is holding their nose). The party appears to be thrown by a pair of adults for their child (all are brown-skinned). Spread after spread features overly busy art and more verse about why dinosaurs make poor party guests. A dinosaur at a pool party would jump in and displace all the water. Brontosaurus would love playing hide-and-seek—but likely wouldn’t be very good at it. Dinosaurs would gobble up all the food and, in their haste, accidentally trample all the birthday gifts. But, the narrator points out, dinosaurs are well intentioned, and soon we see examples of prehistoric pals working to make the celebration a smashing success—a group of kids use a dinosaur belly as a trampoline, and a velociraptor joins in for a fun game of tag. Though some dino fans may enjoy this one, it doesn’t rise to the top. The art is garish, and the verse often scans awkwardly. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
In the crowded field of dinosaur-themed children’s books, this one does not shine. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 20, 2023
ISBN: 9781400242054
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A kissing cousin to Bob Shea’s Dinosaur vs.… series.
Chomping and stomping come naturally to an exuberant dinosaur hatchling. Kissing? That takes practice.
Emerging from her egg at a run, Dinah STOMPS her fat legs and CHOMPS weeds with her sharp teeth. Kissing, though, turns out to be a challenge. After sending one hapless victim flying with a head butt and another inadvertently down the hatch (“Whoops,” she says. “Not good”), she returns to the hatchery…just in time to welcome a new sib with kisses—the sort that involve chomping, stomping and delighted head butts (“WHOMP!”). Drawn in thick outlines with a huge grin, wide eyes and a mottled yellow hide, Dinah stumps her way through minimally detailed prehistoric landscapes populated with anxious-looking smaller creatures. Children who groove on wimpy little butterfly kisses had best look elsewhere.
A kissing cousin to Bob Shea’s Dinosaur vs.… series. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6104-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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