Did you ever have show and tell when you were in school?
(I didn’t . . . but that was because I was born in the Mesozoic Era and show and tell hadn’t been invented yet!)
But my kids had show and tell.
And, as I talk to my grandkids, their teachers have show and tell time.
Items typically taken for show and tell include puppies, kitties, a toy car, something a kid built with her father. Things like that.
But, nobody, and I mean NOBODY has every taken a pterodactyl to school for show and tell.
And that is what makes this book such a delight!
Pterodactyl Show and Tell by Thad Krasnesky is a fabulous children’s book. It’s a rhyming poem — but the rhyming scheme is so clever that you really don’t realize it upon your first reading. By that I mean the author doesn’t use worn out pairs of rhyming words such as go and show or me and see. He skillfully weaves witty sentences using words such as squeak and seek and beat and delete.
And speaking about delete, my favorite page is where the pterodactyl finds a new way to delete in the computer lab. Look closely at the picture below. Isn’t it brilliant?
In addition to the skillful wordsmithing of this story, I absolutely LOVE the illustrations! Tanya Leonello has done a terrific job. The scared, worried, and anxious looks on the kids’ face are superb. The pterodactyl looks adorable and lovable — not scary at all! And I love how the illustrations subtly add to the story like the titles of the books (and the pictures on the book covers) that the kids have during reading time. It’s awesome!
But the best thing that I like is the time that I get to snuggle with a grandchild while reading this marvelous book. The book captivates my grandchildren’s attention — and they insist we read it again and again. That shows that this book is stamped with kids’ approval.
I have to share a tidbit about the author and the illustrator. The author, Thad Krasnesky, received his first MA in Organizational Psychology and a second masters in Military Arts and Science. No English major here! Which makes it even more impressive that he has done such a good job with the writing of this book!
The illustrator, Tanya Leonello, received a masters of fine arts in Medical and Biological Illustration. After working in the hospital system as an independent artist specializing in surgical, anatomical and scientific illustration, she is starting a second career illustrating children’s book. Isn’t that amazing?
Aren’t their backgrounds intriguing? Not a typical path to children’s picture books, huh?
I highly recommend this book! I think that it should be in every family’s library. It’s fun to read and fun to look at the wonderful illustration.
Thad Krasnesky and Tanya Leonello you get my two thumbs up!
(You can get this book on Amazon for $11.)
