Review by Booklist Review
The creators of Wiggle (2005) once again pair an action word (in this case bounce) with joyful pictures filled with movement to encourage kids and adults to join in. The sounds of the words (hip-hop ) with funny rhymes (ker-plop ) and the bright cartoon illustrations, defined by thick black lines and surrounded by lots of space, move from very simple activities to comical scenarios that stretch across several pages: A bounce can turn into a jump, a bump into a fall. / But it's better to have bounced and bumped . . . than never to have bounced at all! The final accompanying picture shows a proud dog sporting multiple bandages. The interactive elements here will bring very young children and books together. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this charming follow-up to Wiggle, Cronin, Menchin and their doggie hero guide readers in life lessons as a series of literal ups and downs. "If you bounce into a puddle," the chipper canine says as he leaps off a lamppost a la Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain, "it's best to bounce in boots." The author completes the rhyme on the following spread, which finds the pooch with a spring in his step in the produce department: "If you must bounce in the market,/ it's best not to bounce in fruits!" Parents will appreciate the words of caution when bouncing gets out of hand ("Bouncing with your best friend is called a bouncing double./ Bouncing on the couch is called big bouncing trouble"; Menchin shows the two airborne with only the couch's back visible, then tumbling to the floor with only the furniture's feet showing). The artist works in bold ink outlines and bright, even digital colors, and uses whimsical photographic images here and there for comic punctuation. Cronin and Menchin build to a bravura finish, with an allusion to love: "A bounce can turn into a bump,/ a bump into a fall./ But it's better to have bounced and bumped.../ than never to have bounced at all!" (the long-eared hero sports a plethora of bandages, but also a wistful smile). Readers young and old will likely enjoy bouncing through these pages. Ages 1-4. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-The frenetic pooch featured in Wiggle (S & S, 2005) is back with a decided bounce in its step. Readers are invited to jump, hop, leap, and bounce balls off their noses and toes along with the playful pooch. Rhymes weave in and out of the pen-and-ink and digitally colored spreads. The cartoon art is eye-catching and as playful as the text, featuring photographed objects like curtains, cabbages, and caps. A final bump and fall brings the silliness to a satisfying conclusion, "But it's better to have bounced and bumped...than never to have bounced at all!" Preschoolers will relish the fun and respond to the infectious energy of this title.-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI (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
Fans of Wiggle can hop, skip, and jump their way through this companion book. The rhyming text is narrated by an expressive dog who bounces everywhere (""I'll bounce to the left...if you'll bounce to the right""). The digitally colored pen-and-ink pictures are bold and exuberant. With such clear illustrations and short, interactive text, the book invites sharing with a group. (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
In her bright paean to the joys of vertical movement, Cronin's rhyming text is not just an invitation but an exhortation to young readers to bounce. The canine protagonist, in a red baseball cap worn backwards, follows a bunny through a cabbage patch. There's also a frog, ballerinas, bees, bats and several other bouncers in all manner of locales. The bouncing dog gets a little respite when he lands in a kangaroo pouch. When he bounces too high, this turns into a bump and then a fall. At the end, covered in bandages, he concludes that it's still "better to have bounced and bumped than never to have bounced at all." Cronin comes up with an admirably broad spectrum of bouncers and bounce-upons, all enthusiastically nearly springing off the page. The bold simplicity of both the text and Menchin's illustrations, rendered in pen and ink with digital color, should appeal to very young readers--and be within their reach. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
