Review by New York Times Review
(Picture book; ages 4 to 8) HOW odd, I sometimes think, that so many picture books aimed at our youngest readers emphasize the same theme. "You are special," they inform us in voices loud and soft. "Celebrate your individuality, your uniqueness, your YOUNESS!" The message is a fine one, I suppose, but I can't help wondering if the constant refrain contains a wee bit of adult projection. After all, the problem among young children is rarely that of mindless conformity. As all parents know, toddlers and early readers do not conform nearly enough, certainly not at mealtime. Or bath time. Or, really, any time. These youngest readers could use, perhaps, a little less skipping to their own beat and a little more marching in lock step to mine. But that is probably just the scold in me, the nagging father who has spent the last nine years asking his lovely daughter to please eat her pasta with a fork instead of creating cat's cradles out of it with her fingers. The child in me, however, wants to be told I am special, and that my individuality is something to be celebrated, if not exalted. Three new picture books aim to do just that. The charming "Snippet the Early Riser," by Bethanie Deeney Murguia ("Buglette the Messy Sleeper"), tackles that most annoying of childhood traits, the maddening habit of waking with the sun and insisting that all others in the household do so as well. Murguia's titular hero is a snail with a patchwork shell who, like all snails, enjoys playing soccer, drawing on the sidewalk and taking piggyback rides. Unlike the other snails in his family, however, Snippet is quick out of bed in the morning and raring to go - if only his parents and sibling would wake up, too! With the assistance of several insect friends, he tries everything in his power to rouse them from their shells until he stumbles on an idea guaranteed to awaken even the sleepiest gastropod. The family, once awake, is far more accommodating to Snippet than I would be to my children if they chewed a hole through my mattress and dropped me from a great height But I am not a snail, and perhaps Snippet's parents are possessed of a better temperament than my own. Murguia's cheerful watercolors animate her book with quiet whimsy, making it a just-right story for rambunctious youngsters. Parents, however, be warned: If your own energetic snails take Snippet too much to heart, you may expect an even earlier-than-expected wake-up call. Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld (the pair behind "Duck! Rabbit! ," "It's Not Fair!" and others) transpose the notion of individuality onto the unlikely canvas of grammar. Their clever "Exclamation Mark" is set on a sheet of lined composition paper, the book's only background. On these simple, lined pages, a lone exclamation mark stands out among his blander cousins, periods one and all, aligned in a long row of contented sameness. Poor Exclamation Mark, with the towering black slash above his head, does not know how to fit into this familial array. After attempting, and failing, to do so, he grows "confused, flummoxed and deflated." Just when Exclamation Mark has tied a bindle to his staff and is ready to run away from it all, he meets another grammatical oddity, a question mark, who naturally has a lot of questions for the bemused hero. Eventually, all those annoying inquiries ("When's your birthday? ... Do you know what makes gravity?") lead Exclamation Mark to figure out his true nature for the first time. This slight story is an amusing and effective exploration of the "ugly duckling" premise. Whether kids will be enthralled with a tale of anthropomorphic punctuation markings I cannot say, but the energetic graphic illustrations kept me smiling and turning the pages. "Cookie, the Walker" flips the theme of individuality on its head. Chris Monroe ("Big Little Brother") writes and illustrates this story of a dog who has taught herself to walk upright, a skill that allows Cookie to "reach the candy dish," "pull damp towels off the towel racks" and perform other assorted people-pleasing tricks. Fame and fortune swiftly follow. Soon, Cookie becomes a popular circus act and, eventually, a top-rated television star. But along with adoration and ample snacks come constant demands on her time, leaving her homesick and worn down. What to do? Continue walking upright or return to a more traditional canine posture? Her decision, to "stand down," returns Cookie to her best pal Kevin, but at the cost of the gift that made her special. Told in a bright and fun comic-book style with plenty of illustrations that will hold readers' interest upon repeated viewings, "Cookie, the Walker" is the rare picture book that actually questions the value of standing out. After putting it down, though, I couldn't help feeling a twinge of sympathy for poor Cookie, reduced to standing upright only when nobody else is around to see. Bummer. Kids being kids, they certainly do not need the permission of picture books to let their mini-freak flags fly. They will do so whether we wish them to or not, and I suppose, on balance, that is a good thing. Except in the case of my daughter, who either needs to start using her fork or needs to figure out how to get tomato sauce out of the upholstery. Michael Ian Black is the author, most recently, of "You're Not Doing It Right," a memoir, and "I'm Bored," a picture book.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [March 10, 2013]
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* From the dynamic team that brought you Duck! Rabbit! (2009) comes this introduction to the most exuberant punctuation mark of all: the exclamation point. At first, !, a round circle with a face, doesn't like standing out in a crowd; in a line-up of seven smiling faces, which look like period marks, he's the only one with a line above his head. ! tries clever ways to fit in (flipping himself upside down, thereby squashing his tail) and even thinks about running away, until he meets a formidable force: the question mark. After a barrage of questions from ? ( Do you like frogs? Can you hula-hoop? ), ! finds his voice and tells him to STOP! From there, !'s confidence begins to grow and, soon, there's no stopping his unbridled joy. The spare, clever illustrations all round, black-outlined punctuation marks with faces are set on the kind of thick-lined paper kindergarteners use, and the overall design effect is lovely. The text is similarly simple, but a change in the size and color of the font signifies important moments. With the celebrating-your-strengths angle, fun grammar lesson, and many classroom tie-in possibilities, this picture book deserves a !!!.--Kelley, Ann Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rosenthal and Lichtenheld (the team behind Duck! Rabbit! and other titles) give punctuation personalities in this witty calligraphic jaunt. Against a background of lined penmanship paper, an exclamation mark realizes he differs from his neighbors, a neat row of periods. Like them, he consists of a smiley face drawn in swooshes of expressive black ink, but above his head stands a resolute vertical dash. He twists and curls his topper to no avail, until-"Hello? Who are you?"-an inquisitive question mark appears. Bothered by the newcomer's incessant queries ("When's your birthday? Know any good jokes?"), the hero bellows a spread-shaking "Stop!" and discovers his talent for assertions, from "Hi!" to "Wow!" and "Look what I can do!" Thanks to savvy design, the exclamation mark's announcements are printed in different sizes and colors to subtly indicate emphasis and tone, yet the mark never meets others like himself and therefore never suffers from overuse. With a restraint that's more declaratory than exclamatory, Rosenthal and Lichtenheld cleverly raise awareness of the ways punctuation conveys mood. Ages 4-8. Agent: Amy Rennert, the Amy Rennert Agency, (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-When an exclamation mark desperately tries to fit in with a group of periods, he tries many ways to rid himself of his extension line, but he just can't seem to shake it. Disillusioned, he decides to run away, but not before he is barraged with a series of questions by a very curious question mark. When he can take no more, the exclamation point screams "STOP!" and ultimately finds his identity. Rosenthal's tongue-in-cheek text will entertain children while teaching them punctuation. The story is narrated by Priscilla Holbrook, Emily Eiden, and MacLeod Andrews, whose voices perfectly compliment the text, while upbeat background music plays throughout. It includes two read-along versions, one with sound effects for page turns and one without. This is definitely a title to be excited about and worthy of several exclamation marks!!!! Recommended for all library collections.-Amy Joslyn, Fairport Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2012. 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
A self-conscious exclamation mark tries to fit in to a group of quiet periods, but, by design, he stands out everywhere he goes on a sheet of lined school paper. He doesn't really understand his purpose in life until he meets a nosy question mark. She simply won't stop asking questions until he commands her to "STOP!" That releases his inner holler, and he goes on to exclaim with relish. The punctuation-mark characters are expressively drawn with thick black strokes of ink that set them apart from the typography used in the narrative. The latest offering from this author-illustrator duo works best when it relies more on visual humor than on wordplay ("he broke free from a life sentence") that will be lost on a young audience. As with most stories about typographical symbols and geometric shapes, a little goes a long way, and this one quits just before the characters wear out their welcome. kathleen t. horning (c) Copyright 2013. 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
Punctuation with pizzazz. How does an exclamation mark learn his purpose? Pre-readers and readers alike will giggle and cheer to see the process. The setting is a warm yellowish beige background with a faint pulpy pattern and repeating horizontal lines with dotted lines halfway between them--penmanship paper. Each bold, black punctuation mark has a minimalist yet expressive face inside its circular dot. "He stood out," explains the first page, as the titular protagonist looks on doubtfully. He tries hanging around with periods, but squishing his extension down into a spring doesn't really work; even prostrate, "he just wasn't like everyone else. Period." (Hee! Rosenthal gleefully puns instead of naming any punctuation.) Mournful, "confused, flummoxed, and deflated," the exclamation mark's line tangles and flops. Then someone unexpected arrives. "Hello? Who are you?" queries the newbie, jovially pummeling the exclamation mark with 17 manic inquiries at once. "Stop!" screams the exclamation mark in enormous, bumpy-edged letters--and there's his identity! The outburst's anxious vibe dissipates immediately (and the question mark is undaunted by being yelled at). Finally, the protagonist has "[broken] free from a life sentence." Snapping up usages that match his newfound personality, he zooms back to show the other punctuation marks. The zippy relationship between exclamation mark and question mark continues beyond the acknowledgements page. Funny and spirited (and secretly educational, but nobody will notice). (Picture book. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
