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
A solo debut for Wenzel showcasing both technical chops and a philosophical bent.
Wouldn’t the same housecat look very different to a dog and a mouse, a bee and a flea, a fox, a goldfish, or a skunk?
The differences are certainly vast in Wenzel’s often melodramatic scenes. Benign and strokable beneath the hand of a light-skinned child (visible only from the waist down), the brindled cat is transformed to an ugly, skinny slinker in a suspicious dog’s view. In a fox’s eyes it looks like delectably chubby prey but looms, a terrifying monster, over a cowering mouse. It seems a field of colored dots to a bee; jagged vibrations to an earthworm; a hairy thicket to a flea. “Yes,” runs the terse commentary’s refrain, “they all saw the cat.” Words in italics and in capital letters in nearly every line give said commentary a deliberate cadence and pacing: “The cat walked through the world, / with its whiskers, ears, and paws… // and the fish saw A CAT.” Along with inviting more reflective viewers to ruminate about perception and subjectivity, the cat’s perambulations offer elemental visual delights in the art’s extreme and sudden shifts in color, texture, and mood from one page or page turn to the next.
A solo debut for Wenzel showcasing both technical chops and a philosophical bent. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5013-0
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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
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