Droll dino fare for the lower reaches of the format’s audience.
Prehistoric prey and predator reach an accord in this graphic kickoff for fledgling readers.
Opening with a primer on graphic visual conventions and how to read panels in order, the tale introduces Thunder, a humongous theropod, and tiny, birdlike Cluck. From their first encounter, the latter, refusing to flee and seemingly undisturbed by all the roaring and tooth gnashing, launches a persistent campaign to winkle an admission of friendship from the former. In cartoon scenes of one to three big panels per page, Thunder’s indignant “That is not how this goes!” evolves in stages into a grumpy admission of defeat: “Something tells me hanging out with you will be…interesting.” If the vocabulary at times seems a bit advanced for the elemental art and plotline, it’s mostly spread out into easily digestible bits punctuated by wordless panels and more roaring. Many of Thompson’s panels are vertical, emphasizing the difference between burly, toothy orange-and-purple Thunder and scrawny Cluck, whom Thunder could easily swallow whole without noticing—but doesn’t. As unlikely friends go, this isn’t the weirdest pairing—trailing, for instance, William Steig’s Amos & Boris (1971) or Salina Yoon’s Penguin and Pinecone (2012)—but it’s extreme enough for even very young children to see the contrast as comical. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-12-inch double-page spreads viewed at 80% of actual size.)
Droll dino fare for the lower reaches of the format’s audience. (Graphic early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: June 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8652-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sturdy split pages allow readers to create their own inventive combinations from among a handful of prehistoric critters. Hard on the heels of Flip-O-Saurus (2010) drops this companion gallery, printed on durable boards and offering opportunities to mix and match body thirds of eight prehistoric mammals, plus a fish and a bird, to create such portmanteau creatures as a “Gas-Lo-Therium,” or a “Mega-Tor-Don.” The “Mam-Nyc-Nia” places the head of a mammoth next to the wings and torso of an Icaronycteris (prehistoric bat) and the hind legs of a Macrauchenia (a llamalike creature with a short trunk), to amusing effect. Drehsen adds first-person captions on the versos, which will also mix and match to produce chuckles: “Do you like my nose? It’s actually a short trunk…” “I may remind you of an ostrich, because my wings aren’t built for flying…” “My tail looks like a dolphin’s.” With but ten layers to flip, young paleontologists will run through most of the permutations in just a few minutes, but Ball’s precisely detailed ink-and-watercolor portraits of each animal formally posed against plain cream colored backdrops may provide a slightly more enduring draw. A silhouette key on the front pastedown includes a pronunciation guide and indicates scale. Overall, a pleasing complement to more substantive treatments. (Novelty nonfiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7892-1099-9
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Abbeville Kids
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
Will draw more eyes than ever to the antics of this tuberous twosome.
Can Rot Poe Tater scare the snot out of Snot, his irritating big brother? Maybe with help from friends!
Tired of being the victim of his sib’s mischievous pranks, Rot, an anthropomorphic potato, is determined to turn the tables. Unfortunately, Snot seems to have eyes in the back of his head (no surprise, considering that he’s a potato), and even with a new pair of sneakers, Rot just can’t get the drop on him. Where can Rot learn to be even sneakier? Spy school, of course! Though Rot makes a hash out of lessons in keeping secrets and other spy skills, he finds classmates with complementary talents willing to help dish up a plan clever enough to startle the smirking older spud into a spectacularly gooey sneeze. And rather than mashing down his booger-blasted little bro, Snot gives him grudging props. Rot and pals rush to celebrate over a plate of only slightly slimed cupcakes (yum!), and the tale closes with a roguish final twist. The art, peeled down to the essentials and made with a mix of earth-toned paints, digital effects, and potato prints, adds to the episode’s air of mildly decayed charm.
Will draw more eyes than ever to the antics of this tuberous twosome. (nature facts, pranking guidelines, drawing lesson) (Graphic fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781665964302
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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