In a display of good sportsmanship, the big dino concedes at the end the game was fun. Young listeners will giggle as the large dino attempts to outwit the little one, but in vain in every instance, the diminutive, overalls-clad dino calls out a triumphant “Peekaboo!” How come? Is it because thin tree trunks and a potted plant can’t conceal the large dino’s frame? Do the big dino’s bold, flower-print shirts stick out a mile? Even when the large dinosaur attempts an aerial hiding place, they discover that ruse doesn’t, ahem, fly, nor does hiding in a crowd wearing a Where’s Waldo?–esque red-striped cap and T-shirt do any good. The big dino naïvely believes they won’t be noticed behind or under sundry hiding places, but the little pal always finds their playmate. The favorite game of toddlers gets a dino twist.Ī large dinosaur tries to outsmart a smaller companion when the duo play peekaboo together. Infused with an unsettling energy, this might make for a raucous read-aloud with carefully chosen audiences Some, such as the serene wolf or the goose soaring through meticulously shaded white clouds, hit the right balance of quirky yet accessible, but it’s an odd testament when a snake and a mosquito are among the friendliest-looking animals. Muddied color palettes add to the unease, as with the roaring lion with pointy white claws glinting against a blood red background. A lop-eyed cow and slack-jawed horse have jarring faces a donkey in midkick looks vaguely menacing. That parrot, with fuchsia head and golden beak aimed at the sky, with precise lines emanating outward, is the epitome of “Squawk.” However skillfully constructed though, some animals edge closer to creepy than cute. Created in a folk-art style, each linocut animal is a technical triumph. Pairings vary between rhyming (“Moo” and “Hooo”) or purely onomatopoeic combos (“ZZZZ” and “SSSS”). Running beneath square-framed linoprints of animals, the bold, dynamically sized black and brown letters (also linoprinted) leap off the page, starting with a tiny mouse’s “Squeak” and an exuberant parrot’s imposing, askew “Squawk.” Small, neatly typed labels underneath mean the text can be read as commands (“Howl wolf” “Growl bear”) or simply animal sounds. Eclectic linocut animals are arranged into rhyming or sound-alike pairs.
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