LitPick Review
The book, The Tale of Was and Das by Marin Darmonkow and illustrated by Peter Stan, is a story that exemplifies the power of art and friendships. It begins with a boy named Was and his dog named Das. The boy and his loyal pet live in the junkyard between the rival towns of Fartsville and Burpstown. The junkyard is where they scavenge for the necessities they need as well as the pleasures they love such as toys and books. Was and Das love living in the junkyard.
One day, Das and Was decided to get creative with the junk that surrounded them and began building a dinosaur like the ones they read about in their books. The two begin this giant project to have fun and let their imaginations go wild. Little did they know, however, that this dinosaur may be the bridge that the towns of Fartsville and Burpsville needed to mend their rivalry.
Opinion:
The Tale of Was and Das, by Marin Darmonkow and illustrated by Peter Stan, was an adorable, wholesome story about a boy and his dog that was comical in nature. It captured the creative energies of a child and the love for his dog, their junkyard adventures, and sincere love for one another. While I was reading this book, I was thinking about how much younger children would laugh at the humor within the captivating storyline. I, too, loved how much it exemplified the pure magic that can result with some imagination, a pile of “junk” and a best friend!
The illustrations in this book were beautiful which was very impressive considering the setting was inside a junkyard. The illustrator did a fantastic job capturing the personalities of Was and Das through the illustrations for they portrayed the characters’ relationship in such a beautiful way. The pictures allowed the reader to see the love these two characters had for each other without words. I looked through this book many times while writing my review, and every time I looked at an illustration, I found a new detail that I had not noticed before. I find illustrations that reveal different detail and perspective are the ones which are most captivating to the readers, myself included.
I feel this book would be most enjoyed by children between the ages of five years and eight years old. It is filled with puns as well as jokes about burping and passing gas. The author words these jokes in a way that I know will make many little boys (and adult men) laugh!
