Kids' Go!

This is way overdue, given that the book has been out for almost two weeks but I've been in such a funk the last few weeks that I have completely lacked motivation to blog. So, here is my review of Kid's Go! I should preface by saying that not only is this review coming from a fan of the band who has a hard time being truly critical of any of their work, I also have a strong background in children's literature. So this review is partly my own opinion and partly based on what I've learned from many years of reading, studying and selling children's books.

First off, I must express my frustration in actually acquiring the book. I work at a major chain bookstore and out of loyalty, chose to order the book at work rather than from Amazon. Given past experiences with ordering new releases I assumed I'd get the book about the same time anyway. Boy, was I wrong. People started reporting receipt of their Amazon copies on Tuesday and Wednesday of the week prior to release. Everyday, when I got to work I anxiously checked to see if my order had arrived only to discover that it had not. By the time Friday rolled around with no book, I was majorly disappointed. Especially, when I discovered that our stores as far east as Connecticut has received it early, but Massachusetts did not. By the time it finally came in on Monday I felt like I had used up a lot of my excitement waiting for it the previous week.

As for the book itself, I really like it. I don't love it, but I really like it. It's a cute, lively song accompanied by bright, humorous illustrations. I am a big fan of the work Pascal Campion has done for They Might Be Giants. I do, after all, have some of his art tattooed onto my back. If you look at his work, either on his website or even just what he has done with TMBG, he appears to have two different styles that he works in. In one, as can be seen in Nine Bowls of Soup and Photosynthesis, the figures are much more defined, the backgrounds are more detailed and the color pallet is broader. This is the segment of his art that I tend to prefer, but is not the one used in Kid's Go!. The style in the book is much more similar to that of One Dozen Monkeys. The figures are more abstract with less clearly defined outlines, the backgrounds are much less detailed and only four or five colors are used. (Mind you, there is a lot of his work that mixes the two styles as well; 813 Mile Car Trip comes to mind. It is really more of a sliding scale between the two styles with some work closer to one end or the other.)

This is not to say that I don't like the illustrations, because I do. I particularly like the monkeys. They are made to have such expressive faces using very little detail which I really enjoy. I am not as crazy about the style that the children are drawn in. Having seen some of his other drawings of people I wish he had chosen a less abstract style for the kids. But the art works as a whole. The story is really told more with the pictures than with the words. This seems really fitting for a TMBG book, given their dislike of portraying their lyrics literally in their videos. The illustrations only need to match up with some key phrases in the lyrics like "get up off your chair" and "jumping like a jack-in-the-box." Otherwise, the words are just a jumping off point for a jungle adventure with monkeys.

The video is a great bonus. It's different enough from the book that you don't feel like you are just watching the illustrations in motion but follows the same theme and story line so that it works as a sing along from the book. I don't think it is so much intended to be watched while you follow along in the book but rather to be watched after reading the book so that kids have an opportunity to dance.

A lot of the fan response to the book that I have read has been pretty negative. I am not looking to start any arguments but I have to disagree with some of the complaints that have been made against it. I think many fans are comparing it to Bed Bed Bed rather than comparing it to other similar children's books. As such, they are disappointed that it only has one song in both the book and the DVD. I shared in some initial disappointment in realizing that it was just going to be the one song, but I also realized it quite a while before I got the book. It seems like a few fans were expecting more right up until they opened the book and since I don't think the info from the publisher ever indicated it was anything more than the one song, I can only assume that they were expecting it to be just like the last book. I love the songs in Bed Bed Bed but am not crazy about the pictures at all. I find some of them a bit creepy for a kid's book, whereas I think the silly monkeys of Kids Go! are much more kid friendly. So do I wish that this book had more music? Yes. Do I dislike the book because it doesn't? No. I also don't really prefer one book over the other. They've both got aspects I like and dislike.

If you compare Kids Go! to other children's picture books, particularly ones illustrating lyrics from a song, it is very typical. We have dozens of picture books on the shelves in our children's department that illustrate one song and come with a CD of just that one song. Several John Denver songs, including Grandma's Feather Bed, have recently been given that treatment. Last year we got a lovely version of Puff the Magic Dragon. Tom Paxton just did a wonderfully illustrated version of the Marvelous Toy. My point being, that a picture book of this nature doesn't have to have more than one song in order to be a great book. I think we all just got spoiled by Bed Bed Bed.

I think the most important thing to remember in looking at the book is that, if you are over the age of six, you are not the intended audience for the book. I kind of feel like Bed Bed Bed is one of those picture books that parents think is great but kids aren't quite as drawn to. (That being said I have read stories from multiple parents whose young children love the book so that is certainly not universally true.) Kids Go! on the other hand has a lot more kid appeal. The colors are brighter. The monkeys are funny and cute and let's face it, kids just love monkeys. The music on the DVD is lively and bouncy and fun for kids to dance to. But most importantly (and I think this really IS the point), the book is interactive. Kids love stories with "audience participation" (think Going On A Bear Hunt) and this book is really encouraging them to dance like a money while they listen to the story or watch the DVD. We got a book in at work a few months ago about making scary faces where the kids reading are supposed to make the faces as they go along. One of our employees begged our story reader to read it at story time. He didn't think it would go over well but the kids loved it because they got to participate in the story. I'd love to see what would happen if we did Kids Go! at story time.

Lastly, the illustrations are filled with imagination. Children love books where they can interpret the story from the pictures rather than having it told to them. Wordless books or books with very few words are very popular for just that reason. The song lyrics leave the story vague enough that a child can make up his or her own mind about just how the kids end up in the jungle and how that monkey got in an airplane. Or the kids can just listen to the song and dance like a monkey. Actually, adults can too. So, go pop in that DVD and show me your best monkey moves!

P.S. My very favorite part of the book? The page that says "(dance brake!)". That little dash of humor, for me, is what makes it quintessentially, TMBG.