Review by New York Times Review
Frustration! When you're a hungry baby gorilla and you see a banana, you want to eat it. But how does the dam thing open? Betty tries hands, teeth and feet, then brings out the big guns: wails, kicks and screams. It takes words of wisdom from a gentlemanly toucan, and a few false starts, before Betty gets her snack. This simple, close-up tale, brightly illustrated by Antony with crayonlike strokes of black with soft pink and yellow, speaks to the foot-stamping, banana-gobbling toddler in all of us. OH MY, OH NO! By Lisa Charrier. Illustrated by Agnès Domergue. Translated by William Rodarmor. 22 pp. Running Press. $15.95. (Picture book; ages 2 to 5) For our rosy-cheeked protagonist in striped tights and wispy pigtails, Mommy just doesn't make sense. Why is she shocked by the child's attempts to imitate her by drinking coffee, making a cake, putting on makeup? Their crossed wires lead to many domestic mishaps, until connection comes with a hug and a smile. It's a familiar motif given a French spin, with watercolor illustrations as bright and creamy as macarons, and a mom who wears high heels at home. WAITING IS NOT EASY! Written and illustrated by Mo Willems. 57 pp. Hyperion. $8.99. (Early reader; ages 2 to 7) No one takes life's complications quite as hard as Willems's lovably neurotic elephant Gerald, and in his latest outing with his best friend, Piggie, he's in for some exquisite torture: Piggie tells him he has a surprise coming, but he'll have to wait. Gerald badgers his pal, letting loose gargantuan groans. But a funny thing happens: Time passes, bringing a breathtaking gift that couldn't possibly have come any sooner. WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE SENT TO YOUR ROOM By Ann Stott. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. 32 pp. Candlewick. $15.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) Step 1: Write a letter saying you're sorry. Step 2: Find snacks stashed in preparation "for times like these." The timeout is a stubborn feature of modern childhood, and wild-eyed Ben's amusing guide to surviving room-bound stretches is part practicality - update birthday list; sort baseball cards - part unapologetic anarchy - make faces at brother out the window; wait for him to do something even worse than what you did. TUMBLEWEED BABY By Anna Myers. Illustrated by Charles Vess. 32 pp. Abrams. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) On the dusty "edge of Nowhere, Texas," a family with five kids find a baby girl in a tumbleweed. They take her home, and what a food-flinging, couch-jumping live wire she turns out to be, flailing her way out of bathand story time. The sister who used to be littlest wants to give her up, but the tenacious clan "loved almost all the wildness right out of her." Vess's illustrations make hardscrabble surroundings come alive with the rough joy of a child whose exuberance won't be contained. ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [November 2, 2014]
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Gerald and Piggie are sharing another adventure in the latest book in the series. The expected large print, spare dialogue, and bubble delivery make it easy to read. Gerald loses patience with Piggie when he is told that a surprise is in store but that he must wait for it. His reactions include producing several loud GROANS and reminding Piggie repeatedly that waiting is NOT easy. Piggie knows that the surprise is worth the wait, but she has to keep Gerald there to see it. The simple words and expressive illustrations, as always, reveal the fact that we often overlook the obvious and that there is beauty all around us. Nothing brings greater joy than sharing that beauty with our friends. VERDICT This original story is about friendship, but it also offers insights into human emotions.-Janene Corbin, Rosebank Elementary School, Nashville, TN (c) Copyright 2015. 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 Kirkus Book Review
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschoolerheck, every human: "Waiting is not easy!"When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that he has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the "surprise is a surprise." Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it's big, it's pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on his basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty "GROAN!" Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. "WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!And for WHAT!?" Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges "was worth the wait." Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can't help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald's elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait. A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends. (Early reader. 6-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
