Early Reader Review: The Thingity-Jig by Kathleen Doherty

Source: From the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

The Thingity-Jig by Kathleen Doherty

Illustrations by Kristyna Litten
Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company
Publication Date:  April 1, 2021

 

Format: Hardback

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

This jovial frolic through the city and woods celebrates ingenuity and teems with whimsical wordplay--a delightful read for any STEAM storytime.

Under the light of a silvery moon, Bear wanders into people town and discovers a springy thing, a bouncy thing--a sit-on-it, jump-on-it thing! This Thingity-Jig is too heavy to carry home by himself, so Bear runs back to the woods and asks for help. Too bad for Bear, his friends are sleepy and shoo him away. So Bear invents a Rolly-Rumpity to wheel the Thingity-Jig home, but then it all gets stuck in the mud! How will Bear tackle this bump in the road? With a Lifty-Uppity, of course!

Reading specialist and former educator Kathy Doherty perfectly blends inventive upcycling and STEAM elements with a delightful story in this wonderfully charismatic picture book. Illustrator Kristyna Litten brings the world to life with incredible settings and empathetic characters.

Teacher's guide and activities available!

Review: 

Such a fun book about innovation and being creative!

Bear can't sleep and so he goes out to find some fun...he stumbles upon a thingity-jig that he is so excited about that he keeps trying to wake up his sleeping friends to come and help him bring back. They are too tired to help so Bear uses problem solving and innovation and a few made up words to get the thingity-jig back home to his friends. 

This book is adorable, it is larger with beautiful illustrations that are whimsical and detailed. The writing is just as perfect for it. Doherty uses made up words, that can be a little tongue tying to read. but that are fun ways to talk about Bear's contraptions. And why not use made up words?! sometimes they are what you need and they are a little silly too.  She also uses onomatopoeia throughout the book for all the action and movement. I really enjoyed this book for the cute little forest animals, but also for Bear's creativity and problem solving... sometimes you might not have help, so what is your creative solution? I really like this as a fun lesson for younger kids. 

If you are looking for some cute animal, problem solving, and fun word books, this one meets all those criteria. It is recommended for ages 4-8.