Silly Saturday: Peer Review of a Picture Book
Plus, giant rodent outdoor bathing video content (in Japan! with fruit!)
While I wait for snow to start (and I’m dealing with the weather-induced migraines), I now share with you the peer review I have made of the following book:
I bought this book as a gift for a friend, because I opened it up, and yes, there were pictures of tiny animals that made me smile.
BUT.
There were pictures of non-tiny animals as well. And not all the pictures of the tiny animals made me smile.
Non-tiny animals: an inventory
This one, people pushed back on: [when I tweeted a preview]
…saying tiny is relative. I think this is some sort of lemur, and they’re not all that big.
Indeed, several times one got pictures of baby versions of an animal, plus the adult version.
Such as this set of capybaras:
So, the baby capybaras do look quite cute and tiny. But capybaras are the largest rodent species currently, standing 2 feet at the withers. That doesn’t sound tiny to me.
Here are some capybaras having a luxurious hot bath in Japan:
They are cute.
Baby elephants are not tiny
The one that got me were all the pictures of baby elephants.
Guys, baby elephants are not tiny.
I don’t care that they look small next to the largest land animal as adults, they are heavier than me at birth.
Yes, really, whales.
WHALES.
This is really pushing the concept of “tiny”.
I was ready to throw the book across the room.
There are pictures of tiny animals that will make you smile
Okay, the book has lots of pictures. Most are of cute, tiny animals.
Okay, that’s more a picture of a snout than of an animal, but close enough.
I admit the book is mostly pictures of cute tiny animals that will make you smile, however…
Iffy pictures of tiny animals
Not all the pictures inspired smiling.
I’m supposed to go “awwwwww” over the puppy in the yarn?
As a former knitter/crocheter, absolutely not. Any tiny critter near a ball of yarn is NOT cute. It’s an impending disaster.
Also, some of us grew up on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom program. You set up a predator next to something that looks like prey… one doesn’t think “Awww, cute.” One thinks “Let’s get ready for the action sequence.”
In Closing: Proposed Retitling
As the book was already put together with that selection of photos (and I see they have two others of this sort: This Book Is Literally Just Pictures of Cute Animals That Will Make You Feel Better and This Book is Literally Just Pictures of Animals Silently Judging You), I recommend adjusting the title:
This Book Is Literally Mostly Pictures of Tiny Animals That Will Make You Smile
I know they like using the “Literally Just” construction, but it just doesn’t hold up in light of the actual content.
Too many non-tiny animals
Too many pictures that do not make you smile
If they want to use “Literally Just”, then they have to remove the non-tiny animals and the non-smiley pics.
A Digression
Once upon a time, the actuarial department I was working in was asked by the marketing department to check the numbers on brochures/material going out to customers.
They told us to check just the numbers and not to correct their grammar, description of retirement benefits, etc.
In looking at my review above, you may see why they gave us these instructions.
To be sure, we totally ignored said instructions and also corrected their grammar, etc., because wrongness annoyed us.
We actuaries are detail-oriented people.