Books by Kyle Mewburn reviewed by Paula Benson-Gamble.
• Do Not Push
Cam loves to explore the forest behind his back fence because there's always something new to discover. One day as he walks through the forest, he decides to visit the pond, but on the way there, he accidentally falls down a gully.
As he tries to find his way out, he stumbles across a vine he's never seen before. He pulls back the vine and exposes a big red button that says "Do not push".
Cam knows he should leave the button alone but he can't help himself. He pushes the button and the ground starts trembling.
Cam scrambles back home.
Suddenly, everything is different - very, very different.
Cam's parents aren't the same any more and no-one is obeying any rules - in fact, there are no rules any more. The world is suddenly in chaos. What has Cam done?
The author has carefully written this story so it would appeal to both boys and girls. The language is simple, the chapters are short, the illustrations are well spaced out to hold the reader's interest, and there's a bit of humour. All of which helps to make this an enjoyable book to read.
Suitable age: 6-9.
• Dinosaur Rescue: T-Wreck-Asaurus
This book, the first of a series, is set during Stone Age times. We meet Arg, a caveboy genius who's the main character, his best friend Shlok, Arg's family and community, and the dinosaurs they battle with. This story involves Arg trying to stop an angry T. rex from destroying his village.
Arg, with his large brain, is quickly able to work out what the problem is, but he has to reach the T. rex in time before it injures somebody else. Will he make it?
This cleverly written story (which contains lots of educational information/topics) is a highly entertaining, face-paced, comical read.
The story itself is led by the fabulous illustrations of Donovan Bixley - which, although they are captivating and humorous, in parts are also gross (such as when Gurg is chomped in half). All the fun and silly nonsense that children, particularly boys, enjoy! [Go to www.scholastic.co.nz/Resources/Notes/Dinosaur-Rescue-1.pdf [1] for some helpful teacher notes for this story.]
Suitable age: 7-10.
• Dinosaur Rescue: Stego-Snottysaurus
This second book of the Dinosaur Rescue series is just as entertaining as the first and, once again, full of educational information and topics.
In this story, Arg has to come up with a plan to help stop the dinosaurs from getting people flu before they become extinct. Arg's friend Skeet, a T. rex, has a fairly disgusting suggestion that involves collecting lots of stegosaurus snot (because the stegosauruses are the only herd in the valley that don't have the really bad sort of people flu).
Will Skeet be able to convince Arg to help him?
True to its original form, this story is also full of fabulous illustrations by Donovan Bixley. These humorous and often disgusting illustrations do a great job of holding the reader's interest (thankfully they're in black-and-white, as there's lots of green snot and oozing pus flying around!).
Both an emergent and a competent reader would gain something from reading this story. [Go to http://www.scholastic.co.nz/Resources/Notes/Dinosaur-Rescue-2.pdf [2] for some helpful teacher notes.]
Suitable age: 7-10.
- Paula Benson-Gamble is an early childhood teacher.
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