Review by Booklist Review
When a succession of potential customers arrives at Alberto's City Lights Restaurant with increasingly outrageous animals, a hastily establishe. NO DOGS ALLOWE. policy quickly progresses all the way to a policy o. NO ONE WITH FUR, FEATHERS, SHELLS, SCALES, OR TRUNKS ALLOWED. With the text consisting only of brief utterances from the humans mostly the spiffy, bow-tied restaurateur and the words on the signs, it is the digitally created illustrations that tell the story. Angular, collage-style art in warmly toned colors, often with numerous framed panels to a page, makes it easy to decipher the action without the help of dialogue. When the exclusionary policies don't work out, the restaurant rearranges the letters in its name to spell out the new name, All Critters Bistro wit. EVERYONE ALLOWED. Children will enjoy identifying the menagerie of animals (and humans for that matter) that appear at the restaurant. Susan Meddaugh's Martha Calling (1994) and Barbara Odanaka's A Crazy Day at the Critter Cafe (2009) offer interesting comparisons.--Enos, Randal. Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Ashman (Come to the Castle!) lets Sorra do most of the storytelling-the text is all but superfluous-in this fantasy about a cafe owner plagued by his pet-owning customers. Sorra's digital artwork combines a warm, painterly quality with clear, easy-to-decode visual information. Sad-eyed Albert, the cafe owner, is ready for business in a white shirt and natty bow tie, but he's obsessed with keeping his cafe free from unusual creatures, and he changes his sign accordingly: "No one with fur allowed," he scrawls hurriedly after a girl appears with a large kangaroo. What Albert doesn't see is the party unfolding by the fountain in the square, as his rejected customers congregate there instead. A magician performs, the pets make friends, and ice cream is served. Sorra (King o' the Cats) captures the city's sophistication, as well as the contrast between the smartly dressed children and their wacky pets-an armadillo, an iguana, an elephant. Elegant storytelling fun comes with the extra satisfaction that derives from having to use visual clues to figure out what's happened. Ages 3-8. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Digital artwork with plenty of captivating details essentially tells this story; the only text appears in speech bubbles and changing restaurant signage. The setting is Alberto's City Lights Restaurant, a sidewalk cafe that sits on a square with a fountain. When the waiter spots a smiling boy and a dog coming toward the restaurant, he changes the chalkboard sign from "Welcome" to "No dogs allowed." The youngster turns away and heads for the square. A series of pet owners and their animals heads toward the restaurant, and Alberto adds them to the growing list of those not allowed. One elderly customer stops to dine alone but finds it increasingly difficult to get Alberto's attention. The pet owners purchase treats from a street vendor until she runs out of goodies. The boy solves the problem by recruiting the waiter to bring treats to the crowd in the square. Large spreads appear between pages of grouped smaller illustrations and sequential panels. Readers see an expanding variety of pets and owners; an elephant, a hippo, penguins, and a kangaroo are part of the crowd. This lively picture book is a good choice for one-on-one sharing; the details in the art could serve as a visual stimulus to initiate conversations about what is happening. A worthy selection to prompt children's interactions with picture elements in books.-Lynn Vanca, Freelance Librarian, Akron, OH (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
Alberto's City Lights Restaurant might have an early bird special, but it's not interested in serving any customers who aren't human. When a boy approaches with his dog, the waiter quickly scribbles "NO DOGS ALLOWED" on his chalkboard sign. As boy and dog sadly cross the street to sit at a nearby fountain, the confused waiter faces a parade of people with pets of all kinds, which keeps him scrambling for the chalk. Soon there's a crowd of owners and animals at the fountain: a cat, rabbit, kangaroo, armadillo, elephant, pig, monkey, and more frolic near the water while enjoying the hospitality of a lemonade and ice cream stand. Meanwhile, the restaurant's lone customer, frustrated with the lack of service (the waiter is too busy with his chalkboard), heads to the fountain, too. Eventually, the dog's owner and the lemonade stand owner have an idea that makes everyone happy. Sorra's digital art is both energetic and amusing, telling this short, nearly wordless story with heart. The double-page spreads, filled with an outrageous assortment of animals, give the reader a happy eyeful. Like the best wordless books, this one rewards the viewer with little details and illustrative foreshadowing that encourage rereading and help build visual literacy skills at the same time. robin l. smith (c) Copyright 2011. 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
People with pets spell troubleand opportunityfor a new sidewalk cafe.With the exception of a handful of exclamations from restaurateur Alberto, standing nervously outside in crisp white shirt, bow tie and long apron, the story is told visually in sequential panels, from one to four on every page. "Come in, We're Open" declares a sign on the door, a chalkboard nearby says "Welcome!" and there's an "Early Bird Special" sign in the window. When Alberto spots a little boy walking in his direction with a big dog, he panics and changes the chalkboard message to "No Dogs Allowed." Crisis averted...temporarily. Then comes a woman with a gray cat, another holding a rabbit and, surprisingly, a couple on either side of a calm kangaroo. Each new animal (and there are several more) prompts a new version of the message on the chalkboard. Alberto notices that all these people with pets are hanging out at a nearby fountain and, worse, that he's losing business to a vendor there with a cart. Thinking quickly,he whips up a big batch of cupcakes and changes the name of his restaurant from "Alberto's City Lights" to "Alberto's Critters Bistro." Success! Ashman's concept is both sophisticated and delightful, with reading and animal-identifying lessons tucked in. Sorra's digital illustrations have bold distinct colors and crisp outlines.Offbeat and appealing. (Picture book. 3-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
