Review by Booklist Review
Ages 3-7. Like Phyllis Root's Rattletrap Car [BKL Ap 1 01], this charming picture book is filled with hilarious, slapdash problem solving and irresistible sounds. After years of wishful thinking, Mr. McGreely plants a garden and eagerly awaits his fresh vegetables. Unfortunately, a group of naughty rabbits nibbles his crop. Angry and determined, Mr. McGreely surrounds his plot first with a fence, then with a moat--but the rabbits easily overcome each obstacle. Finally, having surrounded the garden with a fortress akin to a maximum-security prison, Mr. McGreely is sure his vegetables are safe--until he opens the door to harvest his crop. Karas' sketchy, childlike illustrations wonderfully echo the story's humor and farce and make lovable characters of McGreely and the rabbits alike. But it's the words that will really capture the audience. Fleming describes the rabbits' shenanigans in playful streams of onomatopoeia ("Tippy-tippy-tippy, Pat! Dig-scrablee, Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!") that will keep kids gleefully chanting along, while the rest of the story unfolds with the simple, captivating language of a good folktale. With all the lively action and slapstick comedy, this delightful offering is sure to be a huge crowd pleaser and a story hour favorite. --Gillian Engberg
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This onomatopoeic romp opens calmly, with a hopeful gardener planting a vegetable patch behind his brownstone house. Bright green leaves sprout from the rich soil. " `Yum! Yum! Yummy!' said Mr. McGreeley. `I'll soon fill my tummy with crisp, fresh veggies.' " He doesn't notice a cottontail trio watching expectantly from the garden wall. "And the sun went down. And the moon came up. And / Tippy-tippy-tippy, Pat!/ Spring-hurdle,/ Dash! Dash! Dash!/ Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!" The brazen "twitch-whiskers" hop and dig their way to a fresh-picked salad, and Mr. McGreeley awakens to a row of gnawed stems. Karas (Saving Sweetness), who works in chalky gray pencil with brick-red, kale-green and creamy-yellow gouache, pictures the bunnies waiting patiently as the incensed Mr. McGreeley builds a wire fence, a moat and an enormous cinderblock tower with searchlights. Fleming (Gabriella's Song) demonstrates an ear for language as the suburban farmer battles his furry foes, night after night. The ritual culminates in the "gotcha" finale, in which the rabbits seem defeated, only to burst into view with a vigorous repeat of the title. Fleming and Karas demonstrate great comic timing in this high-spirited tale of one-upmanship. Ages 3-7. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Mr. McGreely has always wanted a vegetable garden and when he finally plants one, he can't wait to taste his crisp, yummy produce. Apparently, three neighborhood rabbits are anticipating sampling the veggies as well, for "one night, when the sun went down and the moon came up," they appear. The next morning, the gardener awakens to find gnawed vegetables. In frustration, he begins to build a series of fences to keep the creatures away. Fleming has fun with language throughout the story, repeating the "Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!" refrain every time the thieves sneak past the ever-extended and elaborate barricades into the garden. Finally, after building a stone guard tower, Mr. McGreely is able to thwart the animals-or is he? The surprise ending will have youngsters giggling. Illustrations, rendered in gouache with acrylic and pencil and utilizing deep shades of brown and green, have an earthy feel to them. They exude warmth and lend personality to the plotting pests. Pair this with Janet Stevens's Tops and Bottoms (Harcourt, 1995) for a hilarious hop through the garden at storytime.-Lisa Gangemi Krapp, Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
After Mr. McGreely finally puts in a long-dreamt-of vegetable garden, he has no intention of letting local bunnies munch his produce every night. No matter what obstacles he puts in their way, the bunnies spring-hurdle over them or dig-scrabble under them and generally outwit him. A bouncy refrain combines with amusing illustrations to make one appealing serving of vegetables. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Mr. McGreely builds a veritable gulag around his garden to keep the rabbits out-before he learns he can't, so he might as well join them. Come spring and Mr. McGreely decides to make real a long-standing dream: a garden full of lettuce and carrots and peas, the foods he so loves. And, of course, a favorite dietary component of the three rabbits who avidly watch Mr. McGreely plant his patch. When the first sprouts push their heads above the soil, the rabbits shuffle down and sample a few. "Tipppy, Tippy- Tippy- Pat! Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!" Mr. McGreely is furious. So he builds a little wire fence, but it is no more a deterrent to the rabbits than a stiff breeze. He throws up a higher wooden fence that is thwarted by digging, and the moat he subsequently builds is simply swum through. Finally he erects what resembles a super-maximum-security prison-concertina wire, spotlights, 20-foot cement walls: " I've outsmarted those twitch-whiskers for sure,' he exclaimed." Indeed, the next morning the garden is as he left it-but what's that peeking out of the basket he has brought in to hold his harvest. Mr. McGreely grabs a carrot and takes a seat among them. Fleming makes it feel as though everyone has won in this contest, and her use of language and onomatopoetic effect is a singular delight. Equally charming are Karas's gouache, acrylic, and pencil illustrations, which are droll and wistful, the artist at his witty best. (Picture book. 3-7)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
