Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 1-This beginning reader has vibrant illustrations, ample white space, and just two to four lines of simple text per page. However, it delights in ways beyond the practical benefits of a primer. The concept of this clever and rhythmically pleasing title is that bellies are universal. For example, "A sumos's belly/is big and fat./A ballerina's belly/is small and flat." The pictures of the huge wrestler and slender dancer are as entertaining as the penguins sliding down a hill to show off their "white bellies" and the perched owls showing their "night bellies." Harris also considers the usefulness of a large abdomen for closing a door, acting as a shelf, or, in the case of a lion, serving as an umbrella for cubs during a rainstorm. On a spread showing an extremely wide man, Harris writes, "a belly should never/get to the stage/when it can't even fit/on this double page." The pitch at the end for good nutrition is a tad preachy but easy to forgive in this otherwise funny, fast-moving, and original romp.-Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT (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
This book enumerates in rhyme the many kinds of bellies found on people and animals: "High belly / Low belly / Prickly belly / Sickly belly." Undistinguished cartoons illustrate the proceedings. The final pages give familiar advice on eating a healthy diet ("Go easy on junk food / like soda and chips"). (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
"Everybody has a belly. / Babies have them. / So do pops. / So do firemen. / So do cops." Crafting an easy reader in the classic mode, Harris pairs a few spare words per page to simple, colorful drawings of smiling children, adults and animals posed to display a wide array of clothed, furred and bare midsections. The cheery art suggests that a celebration of the belly as major tickling territory is coming; instead, the author goes for a Message--"But bellies aren't great / when you can't read your weight"--and closes with a mild warning about the discomforts that occur when you eat too much junk food. Emergent readers aren't likely to change their eating habits, but they'll get the point, and also enjoy the menagerie of midriffs. (Easy reader. 4-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
