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teganbeesebooks's review
3.0
I wanted to like this more. It's creative and interesting, and as much as I was able to understand what they were saying as time went on, it just didn't quite do it for me. It might be more fun to read with a child. Read for grad school for Lit & Resources for Children.
mhfarmer's review
5.0
I spent a lot of time poring over this book. The invented bug language is so fun to figure out and the illustrations are beautiful. I can't wait to see what Carson Ellis does next.
beths0103's review
4.0
Told in a completely made-up language, readers in Du Iz Tak will have to spend a lot of time reading the pictures to interpret the story. But with Carson Ellis's beautiful and endearing illustrations, readers will have no problem with that. I could see this book being a Caldecott contender.
librariandest's review
4.0
My kid is starting Spanish immersion preschool soon, so this was delightfully hilarious. MJ is only two, but she is super verbal and so the nonsense language in this book drove her crazy. I wouldn't say she enjoyed it, but it challenged her and she wanted to read it again and again trying to figure out the puzzle of what the nonsense words mean.
She also really enjoyed the freaky-looking spider. (Enough with cutesy spiders in picture books! Give me [b:I'm Trying to Love Spiders|23281865|I'm Trying to Love Spiders|Bethany Barton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1412530391s/23281865.jpg|42819784] any day.) This kind of accidentally became a book about death for us because MJ was very concerned about what happened to the spider. I said the bird ate it. She still wanted to know what happened to it. I said it's gone. Her face was so serious. Where? I was like, TOO SOON. But then I recovered and said it was in the bird's stomach and she let us move on.
She also really enjoyed the freaky-looking spider. (Enough with cutesy spiders in picture books! Give me [b:I'm Trying to Love Spiders|23281865|I'm Trying to Love Spiders|Bethany Barton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1412530391s/23281865.jpg|42819784] any day.) This kind of accidentally became a book about death for us because MJ was very concerned about what happened to the spider. I said the bird ate it. She still wanted to know what happened to it. I said it's gone. Her face was so serious. Where? I was like, TOO SOON. But then I recovered and said it was in the bird's stomach and she let us move on.
allmadhere106's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. We see a group of insects being enamored by new plant growth all while they communicate in a foreign language. I can see the benefits of showing young readers that they can still understand language through looking at the images for meaning, but the book is difficult to interpret and I can see it being frustrating for struggling/learning readers.
For: readers looking for a challenging book that requires imagination and work on the part of the reader.
Possible red flags: the language barrier could be frustrating for some readers.
For: readers looking for a challenging book that requires imagination and work on the part of the reader.
Possible red flags: the language barrier could be frustrating for some readers.
skysalla's review
5.0
A super fun read aloud. All in a made up language that clearly has had some thought put into it. Love the exploration of nature and the sort of wide eyed approach the creatures take to the unknown plant.
Super fun. Totally see why it got a Caldecott honour.
Super fun. Totally see why it got a Caldecott honour.
kfernandez's review
5.0
Introduce your children to bug language! This book gets better the more that you read it because it starts to make more and more sense. My brain now understands the bug language. The first few reads can be a bit rough but it is always a hit.
molly_dettmann's review
4.0
Love the illustrations and how they carry the story of this bug community as they find many uses with a growing plant. The little details make it fun and a worthy reread and the bug language could make for some fun reading aloud.
jcpdiesel21's review
3.0
Definitely the weirdest picture book that I've ever read... yet I found it to be kind of charming in the end? My son found the oddness to be appealing, as he had fun working out what he thought the characters were saying and then going back to amend his guesses based on what happened later. It's less of a story and more of a puzzle, albeit a very strange one.