Stuff And Nonsense

Time to build a better mousetrap. 

THREE PROS

*From the scales to the sandpaper, almost every shape incorporated within is of the highest-caliber -- and will be a real treat for kids under three  

*It was cool how all of the little things the mice were carrying were converted into one giant pop-up at the end
*Even though my library copy was slightly damaged on the pages in question, I've gotta give the publisher credit for sticking the ladder between a hole in two pages -- not sure I've ever seen anything like that before

THREE CONS 

*The way the text is presented is just all wrong (I suppose they were trying not to take away too much focus on the real star of the show, the 4-D imagery) -- when you utter it aloud it's not terrible, but the faded text color and the ridiculous overuse of punctuation make the actual act of reading difficult to manage 
*Maybe I spoke too soon in my second Pro -- cause I don't see all of the materials on that final page (where did the "bumpy stuff" go) 

*I suppose the title of the book is apt, but less nonsense might have led to increased comprehension for everyone

ONE DAD'S OPINION
What was David Pelham thinking with all of those exclamation points?  I suppose grammatically speaking he was doing the right thing by including them, but I mean, c'mon.  This isn't really a story as much as it is a series of noises and shouts slapped together and placed in tandem with some fantastic tactile textures.  Honestly, he would have been better served removing everything but the identifying words for each "touch-and-feel" surface.  That would have been a Borrow for sure.  Instead, I am forced to relegate it to Donate status -- a rating that seems even more sensible when you discover Pelham wants $15 for what amounts to a bunch of gibberish...    

Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy

Pete's Potty

It only seemed natural to follow up my review of a butt book with one about potty training... 

THREE PROS

*The flaps help take the focus off of the task at hand  

*Doesn't feel the need to inundate you with poop smears or extreme closeups of the inside of the toilet
*Works in the concept of hand washing being an integral part of the process

THREE CONS 

*Playing potty hide-and-seek makes it more fun and emphasizes (in a roundabout way) where the apparatus should be, but I was left wondering if this style was really the best way to attack the issue 
*Not being a toilet training expert myself, I can only guess that there might be a better way of separating out peeing and pooping to make it easier for kids to wrap their heads around early on 

*Either Pete's pants are magical or the illustrator forgot to include them on the page where he gets down to business

ONE DAD'S OPINION
Rating any book in this category will never be an exact science, since the ultimate goal probably won't be achieved from a single reading.  Thus, the only thing I can really do is to tell you whether I think the approach is sound and whether it will get on your nerves.  In this case, the answers are a definitive yes and no, respectively.  That said, it lacks any sort of true originality; consequently, there's nothing really memorable about Pete's Potty.  So where does that leave us?  In my opinion, it's a perfect Borrow, with an option to Buy if you know someone personally who can prove it helped lower diaper costs.  [Since my boy isn't there yet, I'm not that guy.]    

Buy / BORROW / Donate / Destroy

Good Morning Toucan

Dwell Studio should just stick to home furnishings or whatever it is they consider their bread and butter.  I mean why would they waste their time on $9 books when they make $250 on a frigging piece of wood!                     

THREE PROS

*If you are a dyed in the wool yuppie who only buys trendy things for your home and who also views your child as a blank canvas for accessorizing, then this should be right up your alley 
*Much like the morning sun when it hits the perfect angle coming through your window, the vibrant colors in here will definitely open your eyes
*The official web URL for GMT makes it abundantly clear that it is only five spreads long, so at least they're upfront about it     

THREE CONS 

*Three pages with things under tree-flaps -- where's a rock flap or a grass flap when you need one  

*Would have had more respect for it if Dwell did not try to play the PC-look-how-cool-we-are rainforest card since I'm pretty sure it's just a book about animals in nature

*The colors might be bright, but the animals are only okay

ONE DAD'S OPINION

How many catalogs do you get per week at your house?  Five?  Ten?  I'd say we average about ten at KBR Manor.  Now let's pretend that I asked you send me this book by affixing to the back cover a USPS sticker stamp with the correct postage.  There's a good chance I would just toss it if it got lumped in between the CB2 and Restoration Hardware catalogs -- I'm not joking.  No other way to say it really:  Good Morning Toucan feels like a children's book that was written by an interior designer.  That is not what I am looking for in the least.                    

Buy / Borrow / Donate / DESTROY

Pig-A-Boo!

Get ready for Dorothea DePrisco's oinker of a book. 

THREE PROS

*Dominating each page with an enormous colorful farm creature really catches the eye when it is done right  

*My son has asked me to read this to him against my wishes so that he can interact with the tactile elements
*It's over quickly

THREE CONS 

*You know you have a crappy flap book when the pages can easily bend over to the other side, thereby creating some freaky situations where chickens have their heads in a sheep's butt 
*Phrasing like "Cluck-a-boo" and "Baa-a-boo" is not cute, it's just lame 

*The closing quatrain is too wordy-a-boo for my taste

ONE DAD'S OPINION
What is it with these bound variations on peekaboo?  Do they stink because the theme is already severely limited before the author puts pen to paper?  Or do they wallow in the mud of my ratings system due to an inherent disadvantage when compared to the other, more original, works?  I guess since both ideas are linked, the real answer would be the causal relationship of author laziness in the crowded world of children's books.  OK, I think I just confused myself, so let's move on.  Thanks to Treesha Runnells' stimulating artwork, I don't have the heart to turn this pig of a story into bacon.  Donate.    

Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy

Who's Your Daddy?

Completely untrue fact:  the original working title, Scream My Name, Now Bark Like A Dog, was scrapped by the publisher mere minutes before this children's book went to print! 

THREE PROS

*In what might be my most obvious pro ever, I would like to point out that this is a nice bonding tool for papas and their pups  

*By placing the flap attachments in different spots on each page, it makes the book last that much longer and builds the anticipation of what could be underneath
*Totally refreshed my memory about the whole male seahorse pregnancy thing, and, since it is the last item in the story, gives you an interesting topic to discuss with your kid afterwards 

THREE CONS 

*Just spitballing here, but I'm not sure the title phrase should be so freely bandied about around impressionable youths 
*While the various flap angles are nice, the flaps themselves are a bit annoying to lift 

*What does illustrator Rick Peterson have against lower right-hand corners -- none of the daddies are positioned there

ONE DAD'S OPINION
To be honest, I checked this book out of the library with the preconception, based solely on the title, that it was going to receive a negative review.  I mean, seriously, what was Diane Muldrow thinking when she named it this?  Who knows, maybe she's as crazy as the red foxes included inside and realized that sex(ual innuendo) sells.  Or maybe her mind is as primitive as the marmosets we see on the page preceding those foxes and the whole "Who's Your Daddy?" common parlance went completely over her head.  My guess is the former, since her primary source of income comes from being an editor at Random House.  Regardless, Peterson's art and Muldrow's text are all pretty good and might be worthy of a weak Buy.  However, I am going to have to go with a Borrow rating here since the book falsely claims to have "big, sturdy flaps."  [Seems like a stretch given the book's flap lifting difficulties not to mention the rips and crinkles I can see in the copy I am currently holding.]      

Buy / BORROW / Donate / Destroy

Freight Train Trip

Can this train stay on the tracks all the way to Buyville? 

THREE PROS

*Has a high level of re-readability that can be attributed to the excellent writing, some well-timed train sounds, and flap images that are expertly designed to manipulate the action on each page 

*The book is shaped like a locomotive -- can I get a choo choo from the congregation
*Good representation of ages and ethnic backgrounds with a few animal appearances mixed in to boot 

THREE CONS 

*A lot of the flaps are really tough to locate on the page (even after multiple readings) and some of those are also difficult to pull open 
*The crossing gate rhyme tries to sneak an extra word in there that throws off the otherwise solid cadence of the book 

*It's a minor gripe, but I think if you are going to mention directions on a compass, you should have the train move in the commonly associated directions (ie- a train moving west should go right to left and not the reverse)

ONE DAD'S OPINION
Susanna Leornard Hill teams up with Ana Martin Larranaga to put together a very good lift-the-flap adventure.  Both my son and I enjoy reading it -- the illustration is pretty decent too (although pales in comparison to the rhyming).  I was a little worried about the unnecessary drama surrounding the near collision between two trains, but my guess is that most parents wouldn't be that bothered by it. Still, combining this issue with the flap usability snafu makes me hesitant to rate it a Buy.    

Buy / BORROW / Donate / Destroy

While You Are Sleeping

What's more fun than a book about time zones, huh?!  Yeah...                    

THREE PROS

*Does a comprehensive job demonstrating how much is going on in the world at any moment in time  

*The way the author distributes the color spectrum is very pleasing to the eye, particularly on the back inside cover   

*I think we have every continent and demographic covered except for Australia and its Pacific island neighbors 

THREE CONS 

*I wouldn't say my son is bored to tears by it, but I think that's because his tear ducts gave up caring by the third page 

*The flap-lifting is completely extraneous (even kind of annoying) and presents one of those rare cases where a book without added bells and whistles would have been better

*I liked how the book started and ended with the same family, but to have the child go from reading to zonked out in less than a minute might be pushing it -- I would have bumped the clock from 10:00 to 10:01 

ONE DAD'S OPINION

By now you know I am a geography buff.  Ever since I was a young lad, I can remember being mesmerized by maps.  As an adult, not much has changed.  I would even bet that I have looked at the time zone map at the back of the in-flight magazine on about half the airplanes I have traveled on in the last decade.  All that said, this is a pretty boring concept for a book -- made even worse by the execution of Durga Bernhard.  It's too bad, because the pros are stronger than those found in most of my other Donates.  Unfortunately, there's just no way I can rate it higher than that.                      

Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy