Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
What's not to love about a crew of hamsterlike creatures bumbling across a junkyard in ridiculous headgear? With rubber gloves, a faucet, and a paper towel tube shoved on their heads for protection ("NOW we're safe!" one says), they embark on a search for a new home. They cross an ocean (readers can see it's a puddle), a "desert," and make their way to the edge of the world-the top of an old dryer. In scenes bursting with physical comedy, Schwarz's (There Are No Cats in This Book) furry animals squabble, fret, and cheer each other on; in sequential panels, their running commentary appears in word balloons above their heads. When the junkyard dog grabs one of them, they balk ("We'll never get him back!" "There's nothing we can do!"), but taking courage from all they've done so far, they tackle the dog and rescue their sibling. While the creatures may trip over themselves, blundering through their tiny lives not knowing quite where they are headed, Deacon (While You Are Sleeping) and Schwarz never put a foot wrong. Children will clamor for repeats. Ages 3-up. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Seven growing hamster siblings find themselves crowded right out of their home, which is a hole in a piece of furniture in a junkyard. Before beginning their search for larger digs, the magnificent seven don pieces of detritus on their heads, including a pair of rubber gloves, a cup, a cardboard tube, and one useless boot, which make them feel safer as the darkness reminds them of home. Only one of the crew can see where they're going and provides information on what he observes, though his take on things is often humorously inaccurate. To the pudgy explorers, a puddle becomes the sea and must be crossed, an old discarded desk is a mountain that has to be scaled, and a pile of sand becomes the desert. Hand-lettered speech bubbles and bordered ink and watercolor illustrations resembling comic-strip panels are entertaining and amusing. How the brave siblings outsmart the "beast" carting off their brother-who just happens to be hiding in the dog's water dish-and find a new home makes for a funny and spirited finale. Children will get a kick out of this one. Share it with Ed Young's Seven Blind Mice (Philomel, 1992) for a storytime about making assumptions from parts of the whole.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2011. 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
Some hamster-like creatures have outgrown their junkyard birthplace, so they set off on a perilous and amusing search for a new home. The brave band sticks together to triumph over obstacles--such as a puddle--that are small for humans but large for them. Witty illustrations, including some comic panels and speech balloons, depict the journey from the inexperienced critters' point of view. (c) Copyright 2012. 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
Comic-book panels, speech bubbles and rapid-fire dialogue heighten the humor that builds during the brothers' tiny odyssey. Before setting out, the pear-shaped critters cover their cowardly heads with dish gloves, a tea cup, a boot, a paper towel roll, a lampshade and a faucet to recreate the reassuring darkness of their hole. Seeing little, they grossly misinterpret every juncture of their journey. A mud puddle could only be the vast ocean; a desk, a mountain; a pile of dirt, a desert; the edge of a rusted-out dryer must be the end of the world. Intermittently, one little guy blindly calls out, "Brother?"a sweet touch and a dependable giggle. Hysteria builds and readers hustle to keep up with the jumpy dialogue between seven furry speakers and the often-cluttered illustrations, which somehow seem both static (all the head pieces appear in yellow, all the animals' bodies look very similar) and also busy with incremental changes. When a dog snatches one of the brothers, effective double-page spreads bring great dramatic crescendos, laughs and a rest for readers' eyes. Kids will cheer as the brothers use their heads (and head gear) to subdue the beast and finally muster the courage to find a home out of the junkyard, out in the open. Fast-paced with wit and heart, this ridiculous rodent road-trip will appeal to future comic-book loversand anyone part of a tight band of brothers (or sisters). (Picture book. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
