Happy Mother's Day! My daughter and I treated ourselves to to of Kate and Jim McMullan
's books at bedtime. The first selection, I Stink!
, brings back memories of my oldest and his fascination with garbage trucks. We used to follow the truck across our condo complex, watching each trash bag disappear with deep fascination. I Stink! follows a garbage truck on its route and incudes a handy, unique section of trash related alphabet (P is for puppy poo) that is a nice change from P is for pretty or P is for pony. The text had an urban-lyric quality that begs for sound effects and bold reading. The illustrations are bright and formed from bold, brush strokes that align perfectly with the engaging text.
We followed I Stink! with I'm Bad!
(sounds like diner at my house), also by Kate and Jm McMullen. This time we follow a T-Rex on its unsuccessful search for food.
The same bold illustrations and vibrant blend humor and the dino's own voice that describe the T-Rex's characteristics in kid-friendly language. "Did you just call me baby arms? Long as your's pal-20 times stronger. Think about it..." We did.There's even a run-in with early mammals. I won't spoil the ending that explains why this T-Rex just isn't ready to catch food. Yet.
We love dinosaurs. Perhaps 20% of our collection had some kind of dinosaur connection. So 
is right up our alley what with its play on words dino names and clever illustrations. Each species gets inspiration from one vehicle or another. Enjoy the hungry Craneosaurus, hulking Dozeratops or the terrifying Tyrannosaurus Trux. My personal favorite was the herd of dozing, brown Deliveradons. I wonder if UPS has a copy of this book in their lobby?