A Greyhound, A Groundhog by Emily Jenkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: 2017
Publisher: Random House
Genres & Themes: Picture Book, Friendship, Tongue Twister, Storytime, Animals
BLURB:
When a greyhound meets a groundhog, wordplay and crazy antics ensue. The two animals, much like kids, work themselves into a frenzy as they whirl around and around one another. (Around, round hound. Around, groundhog!) The pace picks up (Around and around and astound and astound!), until they ultimately wear themselves out.
Oh, sweet Jesus.
Had I known this was a tongue twister of a narration, I would probably not have considered it. (What am I saying? I’d be too curious not to.)
Do you also get frustrated when you read tongue twisters? Instead of focusing on the meaning of the sentence, I focus on the particular words individually, and miss the whole message.
Fortunately, the message of this book is fairly straight-forward and simple: two very different creatures can become friends and have fun together, so that wasn’t a problem.
But there’s no story. It’s just about getting the child, I assume, to pronounce words and articulate clearly. It’s a wonderful educational tool, in a way.
Though that’s not what I wanted and needed. I’m too old for educational picture books that were clearly not written for adults.
On the other hand, it is somehow melodic. The tongue twisters create a certain song. Granted, an annoying one, but it’s quite an experience of a book.
And oh my goodness, what cinematographic illustrations! It’s almost like I was watching a short movie.
Three solid-ish stars. I can’t give more. This is original but the tongue twisters annoyed me.
Very moving, beautifully-told and softly-illustrated.
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