Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Fresh from A Boy and His Bunny (about which PW said, "Silly rhymes and effortless doodles imply that readers might invent more bunny-on-your-head activities"), in which a boy awakens literally with a bunny on his head, the same author-artist duo presents a girl with an alligator similarly attached, A Girl and Her Gator by Sean Bryan, illus. by Tom Murphy. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-When Claire discovers a gator on top of her hair, she is worried. However, Pierre assures her that she can do anything with him there-go to the fair, give her brother a scare, be a zillionaire, or eat an ?clair. A convinced Claire attends ballet class, where everyone whispers and stares-because it's cool to have a gator up there. Repetition of the phrase "with a gator up there" paired with the singsong rhyme makes Bryan's slight and silly story great fun to read aloud. The text is placed in and around characters and objects and some of it is in big and bold font, which adds a nice visual appeal to the tale. Murphy's spare, childlike line drawings are done in pink, green, and yellow with plenty of white space. This simple color scheme fits the story to a tee. Pair this tale with Bryan's A Boy and His Bunny (Arcade, 2005) and David Small's Imogene's Antlers (Random, 1988) for a things-on-your-head-themed storytime.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH (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
Claire awakes to find that alligator Pierre has made his home on her head. She worries that she'll be ostracized for this unconventional fashion: ""But my friends will all whisper and gossip and stare""; instead she's heralded as a trendsetter. The book lacks direction, but its rhyme scheme is catchy and the illustrations are tastefully minimal. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Claire is having more than a bad-hair day. When she discovers a small green gator named Pierre perched on top of her hair, she remains remarkably composed, but isn't sure she wants him there. Claire worries her friends will "whisper and gossip and stare" and fears Pierre will cramp her style. Comfortably ensconced, Pierre assures Claire she can do anything with a gator on top of her hair. Next Claire wonders "what should a girl wear with a gator up there," and Pierre guarantees she will "always have flair." So with great panache and aplomb, Claire heads to ballet class where her friends do whisper and stare at a very "cool" Claire and her gator. Comic black-line drawings with gator-green and girlie-pink tints complement the amusing rhyming text. In this cute successor to A Boy and His Bunny (2005), Bryan and Murphy answer the ageless question of how does a girl cope with a gator in her hair. Very well indeed, if you're the incomparable Claire. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
