Shimmerlaroos and the Great Kookenama
Hungry creatures seek a beneficial new connection in the surprise- and adventure-filled picture book Shimmerlaroos and the Great Kookenama.
Jack Smalley’s quirky picture book in verse Shimmerlaroos and the Great Kookenama is a wild adventure involving friendship and food.
The Shimmerlaroos are big-eared brothers who are led by their stomachs. Riding zampersans (creatures reminiscent of camels) across the land, they encounter a variety of other creatures, all of whom they try to coerce into giving them food. When they hear of the Great Kookenama, who is known for his lumpy salt porridge, the Shimmerlaroos make their way to his home. Once the Kookenama sees they are harmless, he invites them in, hoping to receive a gift from them. All the Shimmerlaroos have to give him, though, is an old zampersan. To their surprise, the Kookenama loves the gift, leading to an exchange that is fortuitous for all parties.
A work of originality, the book includes fun neologisms and funky names that add a fantastical quality to its unique characters and settings. It also draws on connections to real-world elements, like being hungry and exchanging gifts, via its exaggerated conflicts, resulting in subtle lessons. However, the prose is undermined by forced rhymes that disrupt its rhythm. Further, lines like “a surly, ill-tempered baggy old beast” pile adverbs atop one another to distracting effect.
The illustrations have a computer-generated quality. Still, their vibrant colors and character designs are engaging and fun. The Shimmerlaroos, with their elfin ears and long noses, and the Kookenama’s trucker’s hat and cowboy boots are visually interesting and entertaining. At times, though, the variety of colors, busy backgrounds, and dark border lines clutter the pages.
In the amusing picture book Shimmerlaroos and the Great Kookenama, eclectic and fantastical characters meet and make a happy trade.
Reviewed by
N.T. McQueen
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
