Review by Booklist Review
A troublemaker is hiding right on this book's cover, but readers might not notice him: the little boy wearing a paper hat and brandishing a toy sword takes center stage. And to be honest, the boy is a bit of a troublemaker himself. With his stuffed raccoon, Rascal, as his sidekick, he steals his sister's stuffie, a rabbit, and sends it out on the lake. The bunny comes back wet, but then it disappears again, and the boy gets the blame. Perceptive children will note it's the real raccoon who is doing the taking. When the live animal gets his paws on Rascal, the boy learns how it feels to lose a friend. The story doesn't have many surprises readers know the culprit but the slight shortcomings are more than balanced by the clever artwork that strikes just the right note. Smartly using black outlines to make her figures sturdy and interposing pages composed of silhouettes, Castillo offers something interesting on every page, either winsome or whimsical. Excellent for storytimes, too.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Castillo (Melvin and the Boy) gives her typically sweet-tempered artwork a dash of hot sauce with this tale about a mischievous boy who's outdone by a thieving raccoon. The "bored" narrator snatches his sister's stuffed bunny, blindfolds it, and ties it to the mast of his toy boat. "Off ye go, matey!" the boy says to his co-conspirator, a stuffed raccoon, as he "send[s] the prisoner out to sea." The boy's mother and sister protest, and when the bunny disappears again, they naturally blame the boy. Readers see the real troublemaker-an actual raccoon-dragging the long-suffering bunny off into the woods. When the boy's stuffed raccoon disappears next, he gets a taste of his sister's distress. More thievery follows, and the next morning, the raccoon thief is found asleep on a tree branch surrounded by the missing plunder. Gradually, the boy develops empathy for his sister's point of view ("I miss Rascal... I bet Sister misses Bunny, too"), and the penultimate spread shows him restoring Bunny to her with big-brotherly care. The raccoon gets the last laugh, though. Ages 4-8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-A mischievous and very bored boy decides to pilfer his sister's stuffed bunny for his pirate game. Chastised by his mom, he decides to play nicely with his toy raccoon. Too bad he doesn't look around, because some mysterious troublemaker begins to skulk off with the children's toys. Sharp-eyed readers will notice the work of a hoarding real raccoon. The final straw is when the thief steals the boy's blanket overnight. When he awakens, he spots the raccoon surrounded by his belongings asleep in a tree-"What a troublemaker!" The full-color pen-and-ink art, compiled digitally, features strong black lines, silhouettes, and a playful variety of perspectives to follow the action. The use of shadows and illustrations glimpsed through circles (as if readers are peeking in) create a sense of suspense. Hands, paws, toys, and characters pop in and out of the page edges, lending a playful immediacy to the plot. The antics of the raccoon and having the tables turn on the boy helps him understand his sister's feelings of loss and weave a subtle lesson into the bright clever plot.-Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2014. 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
While his parents tend garden and his sister plays tea party, the young narrator is bored. Seizing his wooden pirate's sword, he kidnaps his sister's stuffed rabbit, lashes it to his toy boat, and sets it sail on the lake. When the boat capsizes, his sister and mom are angry; later on, when the bunny disappears -- again! -- they understandably suspect the narrator. Readers will see that a wild raccoon is the real culprit, as it snatches not only the wet rabbit but also several other toys, including Rascal, the boy's stuffed raccoon. Come morning this second troublemaker (the wild raccoon) is found snoozing in a tree with his loot, affording troublemaker number one (the narrator) the chance to rescue his sister's beloved bunny. In Castillo's boldly rendered spreads (pen and ink, acetone transfer, digitally compiled), heavy lines define dramatic night tones or active, expressive figures touched with soft, sunlit colors; occasional pages in silhouette add variety. At once handsome and child friendly, this is a good conversation starter for preschool storytimes. joanna rudge long (c) Copyright 2014. 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
This late-summer vignette features two kinds of troublemakers: a bored brother and a bold, thieving raccoon.The nominal narrator (with his stuffed raccoon accomplice) decides to play pirates. He filches "some rope" (his sister's sneaker shoelace), a "blindfold" (her scarf) and her stuffed bunny, sending all downstream in his toy boat. Mom intervenes, engendering the bunny's sopping retrieval and an apology to Sister. Enter a stealthier culpritseen by readers, not the familywho pilfers both stuffed toys, Brother's boat and dinosaurseven, through his bedroom window, his blanket! A funny punch-line spread shows Raccoon snoozing in the tree just outside, a stuffed animal tucked under each paw, the little boat now a bed. Though the kids and toys reunite, it's clear from the last picture that Raccoon has no intention of reforming. Castillo's digitally finished ink-and-acetone-transfer illustrations showcase her signature thick, grainy outlines and varied textures, which at turns evoke soft pastel, thin watercolor washes and rendered crayon. A palette of muted greens, red-orange and blue is heavily accented by umber-black (for hair, inky nighttime scenes and some interspersed pictures in silhouette). Children will relate to the everyday sibling tussles and the key roles played by best-loved toys. They'll also get a peek at the interplay between rural human households and the wild creatures adapting to their presence.Engaging and worthwhile. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
