Review - Oops!

Oops!
by Mack
Date: 2020
Publisher: Clavis Publishing
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 64
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

A cute new book for author Mack, the author of A Hundred Kisses Before Bedtime and A Little Bite For You about trying new things

Baby animals are ready to try all sorts of new things. But . . . oops! What do they do when they fall down? They get up and try again!

A cute little book about taking first steps. For risk-takers ages 12 months and up, with a focus on the child’s world.

(synopsis from NetGalley; see it on Goodreads)

This ridiculously long picture book aimed at toddlers is pretty weak. I thought the premise sounded cute, but the execution isn't great. And it's so long.

Yes, there are various baby animals failing at doing the simplest of tasks. But that's where the premise falls apart. Despite what the synopsis says, the baby animals do not "get up and try again". We just go from fail to fail until the last pages, where the lesson isn't about perseverance... but about having a friend there to "pick you up and give you a sweet little kiss". None of the animals try again, as far as I can tell.

The text is stilted and there's a missing word at one point (I chalk that up to the translation). The illustrations look a bit like the stuff I used to draw on the computer with Dr. Halo back in the 1980s. Don't get me wrong; it is possible to create decent art with the simplest of software. But these pictures just aren't great. Also, there are continuity problems throughout, starting with the very first animal, a mountain goat, who's trying to climb a rock. This episode continues over four pages... and the rock and sky are different in each one. (Copy and paste, for crying out loud!)

I just can't see one-year-olds sitting still for over sixty pages of monotony. I was thinking, "Is this ever going to end?" as I was reading. That's not the kind of reaction you want to elicit from your readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clavis Publishing for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall: 1.83 out of 5