Below are 2 Tiny Tree Books titles – thanks to the publisher for sending them for review.
Dino’s Pizza Delivery Service
Tom Phipps and Charlie Swan Pullin
A zany rhyming tale of how to and how not to, make many people’s favourite meal. It starts way back in prehistoric times with various dinosaurs providing instructions on the process – stomping and pressing, flipping and spinning and stretching the dough, then adding sauces carefully so as to have a crusty circumference. Next come toppings – your personal favourites – before the pizza is slid into the oven (using a tail so to do) and spinning it to get all round heat. Once cooked, place in a box and cut into slices ready for delivery. (Each step of the process uses a part to dinosaur anatomy.) Then off you fly to sell your yummy dino pizzas at prehistoric prices.
Fast forward millions of years: things have changed and pizzas are now made by chickens. Will they make a success of the pizza business? Assuredly they are successful at something else …
Charlie Swan Pullin’s wacky illustrations are just right for making young humans’ mouths water as they follow the dinosaurs process while perhaps giving them indigestion at the sight of the chickens’ catastrophic cooking as they attempt to take over the business.
A good book for beginner readers to get their teeth into as well as for reading aloud.
Your Dog is Controlling your Mind
Stephen Lynch and Davilyn Lynch
Dog owners, have you ever considered this: you are not in control of your canine companion, said creature is controlling you? It’s true: your furry friend has you at its beck and call. Don’t believe me: try listening to the young narrator of this book whose parents gave her a puppy for her birthday. She named it Sam and the two quickly became best pals doing everything together. She also notices that the whole neighbourhood appears to have suddenly become dog crazy. For instance there’s neighbour, Miss Gordon, once prim and proper, smartly clad and tidy home owner, but not so any more: her Rufus slobbers all over her and wipes his muddy paws on her classy coat. Teacher, Mr Magnusson spends much of his time following his pooch and picking up its poo, which he then has to carry in a bag while walking his poodle.
As for the narrator’s sister, she is super nice to Sam but pretty mean to little sister and as for their parents, Mum is prepared to get soaking wet while walking the dog and Dad will sacrifice a sausage (albeit secretly) and feed it to Sam, he that loafs around on the sofa all day.
Seems there’s no other explanation for all this strange behaviour by humans other than mind control. But what of moggies – they will likely be shipped off to a deserted island.
Be warned, treat your dog with TLC just in case canines control the country one day.
As a human who has cynophobia, I steer well clear of dogs and this tail-wagging tale, despite Davilyn Lynch’s charming illustrations, has made me all the more determined so to do. Nevertheless dog owners will be amused and likely lap it up.
