Gus, the Dinosaur Bus (2013) Julia Liu, Bei Lynn (ill.)

Gus, the Dinosaur Bus (2013) – Julia Liu, Bei Lynn (Ill.)

This is a fun concept – what if, instead of riding by car or bus, you could ride a dinosaur bus? This picture book takes readers and listeners through the trials and tribulations of Gus, the Dinosaur Bus as he travels through town. The book is fun, but the drawings are too small for larger groups. I’m also not sure about the art – which looks like a kid drew it. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way; lots of kids love art that’s not too far removed from what they can actually do, but I think this would work better in one-on-one situations. 

Storytelling  3
Color Attractiveness  2
Size of Book  4
Text Size  3
Illustrations 2
Participation Potential  2
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime  2.5

Dig, Dogs, Dig (2013) - James Horvath

Dig, Dogs, Dig (2013) - James Horvath

Dogs and construction: what's not to like? These working dogs, along with their trucks, machines, and digging tools are lot of fun. The rhymes are generally good. The book suffers, however, from two problems: the story goes a little too long and there's just too much activity on several of the pages. This would be a better book for smaller groups (better still for one-on-one situations) than large ones.

Storytelling  4
Color Attractiveness  5
Size of Book  4
Text Size  3
Illustrations 4
Participation Potential  3
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime 4

Tiptoe Joe (2013) - Ginger Foglesong Gibson, Laura Rankin

Tiptoe Joe (2013) - Ginger Foglesong Gibson, illustrated by Laura Rankin 

Tiptoe Joe is a tennis shoe-wearing bear who's all about gathering his friends to show them something they should really see. Tiptoe Joe's adventure is filled with lots of rhymes and opportunities for group participation. The pictures are large and colorful, the story engaging and fun for all. Don't miss this one!

Storytelling  5
Color Attractiveness  5
Size of Book  5
Text Size  5
Illustrations 5
Participation Potential  5
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime  5

How to Be a Cat (2013) - Nikki McClure

Nikki McClure’s How to Be a Cat only features three colors – black, white, and blue – but it makes effective use of those colors. Most of the artwork covers a two-page spread with only one word of text, words like “stretch,” “explore,” “tumble,” “lick”… You get the picture.

The book allows for a good bit of audience participation by imitating what the cats are doing. There’s really no story, just a sequence of words/actions, but who cares? I wouldn’t use How to Be a Cat for a large group, but for just a few kids (and those on the younger side), it might be a good filler book.   

Storytelling  1
Color Attractiveness  3
Size of Book  4
Text Size  5
Illustrations 4
Participation Potential  4
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime 3.5

Doug Unplugged (2013) - Dan Yaccarino

Doug Unplugged is a very cute story of a boy robot whose parents leave for work, but plug Doug up to their computer so that he can download all the information he needs for the day. Of course, Doug gets bored and wants to see the real world instead of learning about it through downloaded files.

The artwork recalls some of the great 50s and early 60s cartoons, although the subject matter is pretty current. Colors are bright and engaging and the story is one filled with wonder. Yet, the book is too small for a large storytime setting and would best work as a one-on-one read. Like many other current picture books, this one almost reads like a graphic novel with multiple "panels" (although without borders) on each page. I wish each "panel" had been given its own page treatment, but that would've made the story too many pages for a standard picture book. I really wish I could use this one for Outer Space storytime, but unless I have a really small group, this one won't be along for the ride. 

Storytelling  4
Color Attractiveness  5
Size of Book  3
Text Size  2
Illustrations 5
Participation Potential  2
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime 3.5