From Allosaurus to Zuniceratops, a mix of familiar standbys and new or rare finds with bite-sized facts for confirmed...
Twenty-six dinos rear up, unfold or slide into view in a pop-up prehistoric procession.
Hidden behind flaps or connected to pull tabs, the models—placed individually in rows of, usually, three per page against plain white backgrounds—come off as rather small but are recognizable, brightly colored, and posed in a variety of stances or actions. The paper design is likewise varied, so that figures stand up, come together or move unpredictably as they appear. Each is paired to a short note on the dinosaur’s name, discovery, or some physical feature, a guide to pronunciation, and a vivid comparison with familiar modern animals or items: “Quetzalcoatlus was as tall as a giraffe and had the wingspan of a small airplane”; “Tyrannosaurus…could eat an animal as big as a lion in one bite.” Though the alphabetically arranged pop-ups are not to scale and represent dinosaurs from different periods, Crowther provides both a chronological index and a size chart at the end. An errant view of a carnivorous Guanlong chowing down on plants is the only obvious stumble in this Mesozoic march.
From Allosaurus to Zuniceratops, a mix of familiar standbys and new or rare finds with bite-sized facts for confirmed dinomanes. (Informational pop-up book. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7296-6
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Cute and brave—gee, Rot’s spud-tacular!
A “scaredy-spud” puts on his brave face.
All “mutant potatoes” love mud. Mud is good for playing games, eating, and even sleeping. But few taters have more tender feelings toward muck than Rot. À la Pete the Cat, Rot celebrates mud in song: “Mud between my toes! / Mud in my nose! / Mud is GREAT / wherever it GOES!” When Rot’s big brother, Snot, tells Rot about the Squirm that lives “deep down in the mushy muck,” his love quickly turns to fear. But he doesn’t give up! Instead, Rot imagines himself in various disguises to work up courage. There’s “Super Spud” (a superhero), “Sir Super Rot, the Brave and Bold” (a superhero-knight), and even “Sir Super Rot the Pigtato” (a, um, superhero-knight-pig-potato). The disguises are one thing, but, deep down, is Rot really brave enough to face the Squirm? Readers wooed by Rot’s charm in Rot: The Cutest in the World (2017) will laugh out loud at this well-paced encore—and it’s not just because of the butt cracks. Clanton creates a winning dynamic, balancing Rot’s earnestness, witty dialogue, and an omniscient, slightly melodramatic narrator. The cartoon illustrations were created using watercolors, colored pencils, digital collage, and—brilliantly—potato stamps. Clanton’s reliance on earth tones makes for some clever, surprising page turns when the palette is broken.
Cute and brave—gee, Rot’s spud-tacular! (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6764-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
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
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