Children's Picture Book / Life-lessons / Balance
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Welcome to the Dinosaur Zoo, home to playful
dinos and one very busy zookeeper! Sally works hard every day, taking care of
the zoo and its prehistoric inhabitants. Once they're fed and clean, the
dinosaurs are eager to play with their favorite zookeeper. But, Sally has too
much to do. She can't just stop working, or can she? This colorful, interactive
story teaches the importance of balancing work and play - for kids AND adults!
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HALL WAYS REVIEW: In author Misty Baker's latest children's picture book, Dinosaur Zoo, readers
are transported into a zoo full of cute and entertaining dinosaurs. The dinos
are full of creative ideas and ready to have fun, but their young zookeeper,
Sally, makes the dinosaurs sad because she won't stop working to play.
Melissa Quinio’s illustrations (possibly done with oil pastels?)
are darling. Drawings are richly colored and textured, which brings a lot of
depth to the pictures and also gives readers plenty to study on every page. The
characters' faces are really expressive and the depictions of the sad
dinosaurs are so heart breaking, you'll want to hug the book.
Misty Baker writes an engaging story, which parallels the real world,
that will likely get young readers to think and react. Children (and adults
reading along with them) may recognize Sally's work-comes-first behaviors and
will enjoy Sally's solution. Also engaging is the print itself -- a variety of
font sizes, word shapes, and colors are used to encourage the readers to
interact with the text and story.
It's fun to see the chores that have to be done in a zoo full of
dinosaurs, and kids will get a giggle out of Sally feeding the dinos and
shoveling "dino doo."
Each dinosaur has a favorite playtime activity, to which kids will
relate within their own friend groups. Be ready to snort (I did) at
Velociraptor and his corny jokes. (What did a triceratops sit on? You'll have
to read to find out!)
The book is well-written and includes a section at the end that
is directed to caregivers of children. Where the story implicitly conveys a message
that kids need their adults to play with them, the "Word to parents and
guardians from the author" is explicit about it. Fortunately, Baker offers
some activities that seem like playtime but help the chores get done.
There are some big dinosaur names, so younger readers will need
some help with pronunciations. This is a great book to use as either a
read-aloud or read-along to foster dialogue between children and adults, and I
highly recommend it.
Thank you to the author for providing me a print copy in
exchange for my honest opinion -- the only kind I give. I feel privileged that she
has shared another of her fabulous stories with me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Misty Baker is an author, freelance editor, and shameless chocoholic.
From the age of three, she’s been in love with the written word. Some of
her very favorite books were classics such as Black Beauty and Anne of
Green Gables, and a few lesser known gems like Never Tease a Weasel and
Beatrice & Vanessa. She loves writing children’s books that are
fun, interactive, and teach valuable lessons to both children and
grown-ups. Published titles include: Quentin’s Problem, Fuzzy Buzzy’s
Treasure, Dinosaur Zoo, and A Home for Rosie with more in the works.
Misty also writes romance under her pen name Mysti Parker. Her short writings have appeared in numerous anthologies. On any given day, you can find her writing the next best-story-ever or lost in a good book at her home in Buckner, KY with her husband, three children and too many pets.
Misty also writes romance under her pen name Mysti Parker. Her short writings have appeared in numerous anthologies. On any given day, you can find her writing the next best-story-ever or lost in a good book at her home in Buckner, KY with her husband, three children and too many pets.
Connect with Misty:
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Thanks so much for the wonderful review, Kristine!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! I'm such a fan!
ReplyDeleteI love that she's included caregiver information in her book and encourages interaction for both young reader and adult.
ReplyDeleteIt is really a bonus. She gives very specific activities so it's easy, even if the adult isn't feeling creative.
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