  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 10/15/2019 The course of true love involves a lot of things getting smashed and bashed in this prehistoric meet cute. Smitten at first sight of Neanne—“She was short. She was hairy. She was perfect”—young Neander moons about the cave until he hears his dad knowingly remark “Crush,” then rushes out to gather a big bouquet, show it to her. . . and stomp it to smithereens with a mighty, spread-filling “CRUSH.” Puzzled when she runs off, Neander ups his game by doing the same with an enormous conch. When that doesn’t work, he drags up an iceberg and carves a huge statue of her. This time she smiles and enacts a destructive “CRUSH” of her own. Kuefler depicts the infatuated enfants as stubby, skin-clad figures with big tangles of unruly hair (his dark, hers red) and places them in benign, minimally detailed landscapes. The theme’s violence is discomfiting in a relationship story, but the humor helps tone it down somewhat, and younger audiences in particular will enjoy chiming in on the periodic bellow. - Copyright 2019 Booklist. School Library Journal - 11/01/2019 PreS-Gr 1—When Neander meets cute redhead Neanne, he blushes and crushes hard. His initial attempts to express his feelings leave her unimpressed, and a bit confused, but gradually, they do prompt a more favorable reaction. Each cycle has the little boy search high and low for a grand gift, before presenting it to his favored one. Then with a "crush," which is written in a bold colorful font, he crushes it. Neander's determination pays off in the end, for a little twist that shows off the girl's strength, brings the two together. Kuefler's art has stylistic similarities to that of Jon Klassen's, although, the humor is less subtly stated, for characters act in exaggerated ways. This works well with Ferry's writing; characters speak in an affected "Neanderthal" speech. VERDICT An amusing addition that shows younger children the beginning of a respectful relationship.—Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont. - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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