Zuma the Dog: Zuma the Dinosaur Guy

Product Tested By Lyndsay Lyle – Harvey 18 Months

Lyndsay Awarded The Zuma the Dinosaur Guy – Paperback 4.5/5

It looks good; it definitely looks like it will be interesting to read. It just came in a plain envelope so it wasn’t particularly interesting packaging but nothing wrong with it. Front cover is nice and bright and colourful without being gaudy. My son grabbed the book straight off me and opened it straight away. It seemed to grab his attention, but only being 16 months old he doesn’t sit still for a full story yet. The illustrations were good it was easy to point things out to my son in the pictures. It was a good length. I’ve found a lot of stories for this age group to be either really short or much too long. I would definitely buy more in the Zuma dog series. Overall great, I just think
the pages could have been a bit thicker, as toddlers tend to be heavy handed with books. Definitely good value for money. I’m actually considering buying some of the series for my niece. I would recommend as a good book. Great story and illustrations, just the durability of the pages let it down slightly. Overall great. Would definitely purchase especially if the pages were made thicker. Lyndsay Lyle – Harvey 18 Months

Product Tested By Suzann Mason – Elizabeth 4 Years

Suzann Awarded The Zuma the Dinosaur Guy – Paperback 3.5/5

This book arrived in good condition. I feel the front cover is a very basic design. No clues to indicate that the story is about a Dinosaur. Unfortunately this cover did not entice Elizabeth to want to read the book straight away. This story once read did capture her attention as she wanted to find out what the Dog had found. The book does have illustrations but they are very basic and look like they were drawn on Ms Paint. She liked the story the first time I read it but didn’t want to read it again. It’s good that the story includes places from all over the UK. I think the quality is quite poor. There are a few phrases where it’s obvious the word was chosen just so it could fit in with the rhyming scheme, for example “On a ferry and over the sea, Zuma wonders if he can find three”. This, along with other sentences, sound odd and at times the rhyming scheme is abruptly interrupted which breaks the rhythm for example, “He finds a nice spot and digs with his tools, he feels he’s got no time to lose”. The words “tools” and “lose” don’t rhyme. Personally I feel the graphics are basic, the
story is lacking in depth and the rhyming scheme is odd to say the least. My daughter has no interest in reading it again. Suzann Mason – Elizabeth 4 Years

Product Tested By Victoria Jones – Zachary 18 Months

Victoria Awarded The Zuma the Dinosaur Guy – Paperback 4/5

Zuma the dog looks like a lovey book both from the inside and out the illustrations are lovely, I did think the paper quality was a bit poor in comparison to books we have however. The book cover was lovely and that seemed ok but I imagine a few tugs and the book could be
destroyed. The book looks nice looking at the cover, my little boys new favourite word at the moment seems to be doggie so he really likes pointing at him saying what he is! I feel the book is for older children however Zach did like going through the book and pointing at the dog, we read a few pages but then he made us go back to look at the first few pictures again. I think we managed to read the book once all the way through and that was with him wandering around the lounge. The pictures (mainly of the dog) got Zach’s attention I feel maybe in a few more moths time he maybe a little ,ore interested, defiantly in a year or so. The illustrations in Zuma are lovely they are clear and easy to show what’s going on in the book and for your child to take an interest as they are not all cluttered up. I feel it would be unfair to say no as Zach clearly liked looking at the pictures he just wasn’t that interested in what was going on in the book, it is quite long with longer words that the other books we read. I liked the pictures they really are nice illustrations and can see the potential of this book for when Zach gets a bit older. I feel the price is a bit high but depending on what other books are in the Zuma series I would consider buying more when Zach is a little older so he can enjoy them a little more. The pages felt quite flimsy so I do not feel the quality was that great. The books RRP is quite high and with the quality of the paper I do not think this is really justified when the book could end up ripped quite quickly. I will have to say no I would not purchase presently, however I would consider changing this if the price was a little lower but only when Zach is a little older and would be able to appreciate it. I would recommend But only for older children I can see the appeal of these books especially for kids that like dinosaurs, I would recommended they maybe get it when it was on offer or
possibly in a set if that lowered the price. Our experience was ok nothing to really rave on about apart from Zach liked pointing at the dog saying doggie, and there is only so many times your sanity will allow you to say ‘yes dog good boy’ I think older children (not an 18 month old) would like this book as can see them being more into dinosaurs and would also have a longer attention span. I would put this book in a safe place and try again in a few months’ time to see if Zach liked it any better at sitting and listening without making a grab for the book and potentially ripping the pages. Victoria Jones – Zachary 18 Months