Crush Cavernícola

by Beth Ferry, Joseph Kuefler (Illustrator), David Aliaga Muñoz (Translator)

Neander is a young caveboy. He spends his days doodling on cave walls, chasing mammoth butterflies, and playing with his pet rock, Rock. But one day, he meets Neanne--and he's CRUSHED!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Love, Humor, Fiction, Storytime, Romance

40 pages, Hardcover

First published November 12, 2019

About the author

Beth Ferry is the author of the picture books Stick and Stone and Land Shark. Her family has cared for myriad pets, including two land sharks, a hedgehog, a blue-tongued skink, and a heap of hamsters, but her absolutely perfect pet is an English bulldog named Winston. She lives in New Jersey.

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a cute story to read around Valentine's Day. Neander is a typical caveboy. One day, he sees Neanne and falls hard. He decides to show her how he feels. So he gives her a series of gifts. Unfortunately, his caveboy instincts always get the better of him, and he ends up crushing the gifts as soon as he's presented them. Neanne, understandably, thinks he's a bit nuts. But the final gift turns out to be something they can both enjoy, after a twist that turns the story on its head.

I'm not sure if I really understand that twist at the end (is Neanne trying to meet Neander on his level... or is it simply revenge?) but the outcome is kind of cute, regardless. The pictures are simple but effective, with some humorous touches (I especially like Neanne styling her sabre-tooth tiger's fur). I'm not as enamoured with the writing, which falls back on the old stereotype of cavepeople using terrible grammar. Granted, they're not going to be speaking modern English, but they may have had their own fairly sophisticated oral language. I do like the incorporation of the various words that rhyme with the characters' names, though.

So the story's cute, as are the illustrations, and the overall message is fairly modern, even given that this is a book about cavepeople. For readers looking for picture books about first love, crushes, or stories suitable for Valentine's Day, Caveboy Crush might be just the thing.

Quotable moment:

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

When caveboy Neander spots Neanne, the most beautiful young girl in his prehistoric world, he goes a little crazy. His crush leads him to proffer all manner of gifts, from bouquets to conch shells. Unfortunately, his actions thereafter (he takes the word "crush" literally) lead Neanne to conclude he's a little bit off, and she keeps running away. Can Neander come up with the right gift, to show her how he feels...?

A sweet story of a first crush is given the Neanderthal treatment in Caveboy Crush, which pairs an engaging and entertaining tale from author Beth Ferry with expressive, whimsically humorous artwork from illustrator Joseph Kuefler. I was particularly excited to pick this one up, as I have enjoyed Kuefler's previous three picture-books (which he also wrote). Recommended to anyone looking for sweet new picture-books addressing the idea of a first crush, or set in "caveman" times.

[Ghee Buttersnaps aka Gio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I legitimately laughed while reading this.

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute and funny

[Jennifer Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stinkin’ adorable! Explores the various meanings of the word crush. Some of their expression in the book 🤣

[Sarai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una divertida historia de amor en la prehistoria
Cómo es no entender por primera vez el enamoramiento, y la inocencia de este.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny story. Clever rhymes. I laughed out loud. It gets four stars. I'd like to read more by this author. It was the favorite of the books I read to Alena this morning.

[Alida Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute and great vocabulary!

[Jess El-Zeftawy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was underwhelmed by this one but my kindergartener has asked for it at bedtime for four consecutive nights. I think he mostly enjoys shouting "CRUSH!" when Neander and Neanne crush things. We picked this one up along with a bunch of other books about love in anticipation of Valentine's Day. Four stars. Three from me and five from little man.

[Sakebushippo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un día, cuando Neander, un niño de las cavernas está pescando en el río, conoce a una niña, Neana. Ella es bajita peluda, y para Neander ella es lo más hermoso que ha visto en su corta vida, por lo que no puede dejar de pensar en ella.

Cuando sus padres se dan cuenta de que algo le pasa, solo concluyen que él tiene un ¡Crush! con Neana. Ante esto, Neander se da a la tarea de buscar el regalo perfecto que haga que su ¡Crush! con ella haga efecto y puedan divertirse juntos.

Pero las cosas no serán tan fáciles, ya que Neana no es una niña fácil de convencer, por lo que él tendrá que ideársela para conseguir el regalo que la haga cambiar de opinión.

LEER COMPLETO EN MI BLOG: https://divergentemexico.blogspot.com...

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, neanderthal romance with two literal minded lovers.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute for parents who watch their kids becoming friends with other kids in ... unconventional ways. But the romanticization of it feels awkward given the (presumably) very young ages of the kids, and I suspect that more than one youthful reader will walk away still confused about what on earth a crush is.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neander is just a typical cave boy who likes doing cave boy things, but when he sees Neanne his whole world is changed. He's crushing on Neanne, and goes out of his way literally to show her just how much. Young love in bloom!

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite by Ferry.
The caveboy, Neander, sees Neanne and develops a crush. He tries to show his affection by crushing items in front of her. She isn't impressed until he carves a statue of her and she crushes it.
Humor is there for elementary level readers but it didn't resonate with me.

[Aniee Morales Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro está precioso, la historia nos hizo reír muchísimo sin duda todas hemos conocido a un Neander 😂

[La Gran Biblioteca de David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neander es un un niño de la Prehistoria que está haciendo sus cosas ordinarias cuando ve a una niña, Neana. Una pelirroja muy bruta. Y ahí surge el flechazo. Neander, para conquistarla, buscará dónde vive y le ofrecerá una serie de regalos para machacarlos luego y demostrar así su amor. ¿Será correspondido?

En inglés, la palabra "crush" significa literalmente "arrancar", "machacar" e incluso "triturar". En el sentido actual, un "crush" es una persona especial que te gusta (aunque casi siempre es un amor difícil de alcanzar). Digo esto para que se entienda mejor porqué Neander machaca todo delante de la chica y grita "crush".

El álbum es una inocente y tierna historia acerca de la amistad y del primer amor en la niñez. Refleja muy bien las travesuras de los niños y esas ganas que tienen de jugar y de investigar. En cuanto al apartado artístico, hay un predominio de los toques ocres y terrosos. Es un dibujo que, aunque no tenga muchos detalles, es muy expresivo, súper expresivo. El trabajo es, visualmente, muy atractivo.

https://lagranbibliotecadedavid.blogs...

[Maria Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and witty look at a young child's attempt to tell another he has a "crush" on her. And a humorous reminder that kids are always watching. This is a great read aloud book for kids with opportunities for them to join in and yell CRUSH! As an extra special treat, be sure to check out the changes in the fun cave drawings on the front and back end pages. It's an excellent book for young kids to see an exaggerated manner of trying to attract another's attention that could help with some children's often awkward and annoying attempts to show that they like another kid.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly wordplay on young love. Communication is key in a relationship after all! The illustrations are adorable - absolutely love all the facial expressions. As a storyime read, it's a little weird for my usuals, just because my toddlers or preschoolers probably haven't encountered the term "crush" before in this context, so wouldn't get the big joke of the book - would need more explanation than is feasible with my usual crowd. Older kids would probably find it funny, though, and it would certainly be a fun one to read aloud - maybe for an older Valentine's program?

[Carmabela Wong]

Neander is a young caveboy. He spends his days doodling on cave walls, chasing mammoth butterflies, and playing with his pet rock, Rock. But one day, he meets Neanne—and he’s CRUSHED!

A sweet story about a first crush that will leave a smile on your face. It is funny and will have your little one laughing as well.

Sunshine and I enjoyed this book very much. Enjoy it with us on our Youtube channel Storytime Sunshine.

Here is a direct link: https://youtu.be/Wu8iojWtPrA

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, misunderstandings in love... When Neander (great name!) literally expresses his crush for Neanne (another great name!), hilarity ensues. This book is a delight, filled with visual, text-based, and page turn surprises that will keep you laughing out loud from beginning to end. A clear 2019 picture book favorite.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so funny! And I love that it is about a first crush but it doesn't bring up any thorny consent issues. I am reminded of Dragons in Love but everything that book got wrong this one gets right.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Off-the-charts with sooooooo much cuteness! Neander, a cave dweller, meets and becomes instantly captivated by Neanne. Not comprehending what he is feeling, he is at a loss for words and his parents also notice his behavior and it is then that he learns that he is 'crushed'. He attempts to get her attention through various gestures in hopes that Neanne will also feel 'crushed'.

[Juliana Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neander met Neanne and instantly fell in love. He tried to win her love with flowers and a mammoth-sized shell. But when he crushed his gifts to her, she ran away. At last he traveled far away to get an enormous iceberg for her. But instead of crushing it, he craved a giant ice sculpture of her. She was so taken with the gift... she crushed it! Now they live happily ever after.

[William Moses · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very well written and well illustrated. The pictures added so much to the understanding of what was going on as well as all the stellar use of figurative language. The author perfectly used onomatopoeias, rhyme scheme, and irony to tell the prehistoric love story in a way that leaves the reader feeling good after reading.

[Abby Johnson]

When Neander the caveboy gets a crush on a girl, he's really not sure how to let her know about his feelings. He tried crushing flowers, he tries crushing a giant shell for her, but nothing seems to work. What's a caveboy to do? This funny take on love and crushes is cute and colorful.

[SABRINA · Rating 5 out of 5]

PLEASE! Everyone, do yourselves a favor and read this! It's adorable. It's hilarious. It's one of the best ways I have ever seen, read, or heard of to explaing to your child their feelings when they have a "crush" on someone! I LOVED IT! A ROMANCE BOOK for the kiddos! LOVED!

[Annese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the cutest little books I have read in a while. I bet it is going to go over like a "CRUSH" for storytime!

[Alice Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny little gem that the author dedicated "To everyone I crushed, and to everyone who crushed me." Appropriate!

[Sheron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story was really cute. It was boy meets girl, gets a crush and then misunderstands the word "crush" and goes about trying to win her heart by using "crush".