A riotous, rib-tickling comedy of errors.
In this sequel to There’s a Dinosaur on the 13th Floor (2018), Mr. Snore returns to the Sharemore Hotel for another memorable adventure.
Hired to play his violin at a hotel wedding, Mr. Snore arrives early. When the wedding planner offers him cocoa, Mr. Snore requests no marshmallows because they make him sneeze. Spying a dodo bird gobbling a frosting rose on the wedding cake, Mr. Snore chases it away. While the wedding planner looks for someone to repair the cake, Mr. Snore stands guard, wielding his instrument’s bow like a sword to fend off two beavers and a boa constrictor. Out of an abundance of caution, Mr. Snore moves the cake trolley into a dark closet, but it’s filled with bats. Pushing the trolley away from a pelican and an ostrich, Mr. Snore evades a dinosaur in a tuxedo, locking him in a freezer. Finally, the wedding planner intervenes, and Mr. Snore realizes he’s overreacted and badly misjudged everyone except the offending dodo. Just as all seems sorted out, Mr. Snore sniffs the marshmallow frosting on the wedding cake—with explosive results. Comic, dramatic, fast-paced illustrations reveal well-intentioned Mr. Snore’s cascading mistakes as he heroically thrusts and parries his bow and frantically steers the cake trolley across the pages. Diverse animals dressed in wedding finery border on the absurd, but none match proper Mr. Snore and his hilariously monumental proboscis. Mr. Snore presents White, and the wedding planner has brown skin.
A riotous, rib-tickling comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0884-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.
With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?
Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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