A lively story with a positive message—but not a true champion of inclusion.
Kid Coach and Dad learn the meaning of true championship in this debut picture book.
Young Kid Coach trains his skinny, couch-potato dad for the ultimate competition “in the grandest arena of them all—Wrestle-Rumble Mania Kingdom Tournament of Champions.” Dad throws down against a series of flamboyant, muscled “guys”—big, bad, and bald. Each time, Dad wins with his inescapable “Tater Tangler,” but during all his training, Kid Coach forgot to teach Dad how a victor treats fellow competitors. Dad dances too long and refuses to shake hands. Large, flashy illustrations capture the playful energy of the narration and lend to sharing the book with a storytime audience. Repetition also increases the read-aloud appeal. Mixing it with potato humor, Justus presents a valuable lesson about integrity and kindness. The wrestlers don’t care about the gifts or high-fives Dad offers to make up for his behavior until he gives a sincere apology. Unfortunately, the book lacks diversity. Both Kid Coach and Dad are white, and white (or, oddly, purple or pink) characters outnumber the two people of color depicted in the illustrations. One of them is black, and the other wears a Mexican lucha libre mask. Additionally, the text refers to all the wrestlers as “guys” and the competition as a “Kingdom,” so there are presumably no other genders represented in the story.
A lively story with a positive message—but not a true champion of inclusion. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62414-886-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.
Another creature is on the loose.
The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728274300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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