Nice-enough bedtime fare for toddler dinophiles.
Nursery favorites “Humpty Dumpty,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” and more are rewritten with dino roars and stomps.
This board book is a straightforward compilation of nursery rhymes and songs. While many will be familiar after a few lines, since many are renamed to suit the dinosaur theme, readers may sometimes find themselves muddling through pacing, tune, and rhythm until they catch on. Some changes are as simple as editing a single word. In “Rock-a-bye Dino,” all of the instances of the word “baby” are changed to “dino”—nothing more. Others, such as “Five Little Dinosaurs,” a take on “Five Little Pumpkins,” are more elaborately reimagined. “Star Light, Star Bright” is the only included rhyme with no edits; accompanying it is a picture of a young regaliceratops clutching a teddy bear and looking out the window at the titular star. Overall, Rešček’s illustrations are sweet and suitable to a bedtime book for little ones. The images include enough details to engage readers with thoughtful touches, such as a bird gently laying a leaf as a blanket across a sleepy dinosaur. The colors are bright and child-friendly, and the dinosaurs are all endearing, with perky noses and expressive eyes. With a gift plate printed into the front endpaper, it’s clear that this is designed to be a gift to a family for a new baby. It’s a nice take on the standard book of lullabies even if the rewrites sometimes make for slightly awkward read-alouds.
Nice-enough bedtime fare for toddler dinophiles. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68010-589-6
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
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Young dino fans will enjoy it, though their grown-ups may not.
What sounds did dinosaurs make? We don't really know.
Litton suggests some possibilities while introducing sophisticated vocabulary in a board-book format. Five dinosaurs are featured: Tyrannosaurus rex, Stegosaurus, Pterodactyl, Diplodocus, and Triceratops. For each species there is a brief description that highlights its distinctive features, followed by an invitation to hear and repeat the dinosaur's sound. There is no explanation for why scientists think T. Rex “roared,” Stegosaurus “howled,” Pterodactyl “screeched,” Diplodocus “growled,” or Triceratops “grunted.” The author tries to avoid sexism, carefully referring to two of the creatures as “she,” but those two are also described in stereotypically less-ferocious terms than the male dinos. The touch point on the Pterodactyl is a soft section of wing. Readers are told that Diplodocus “loved splashing in swamps,” and the instruction is to “tickle her tummy to hear her growl,” implying that this giant creature was gentle and friendly. None of this may matter to young paleontologists, who will enjoy finding the tactile section on each creature that triggers the sound. Despite extensive directions in small print, most parents and libraries won't bother to change the battery secured by a tiny hex screw, but while the battery lasts, the book will get lots of play.
Young dino fans will enjoy it, though their grown-ups may not. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-58925-207-3
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.
Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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