Review by Booklist Review
Dedicated to the Knights Who Say NI!' and similar in language, at least, to a Monty Python sketch, this episode features a gnome whose physical differences lead to a vocation. Every gnome (every male one, anyway) sports an elaborate white beard except for shrubbery-tender Albert, whose hairless chin keeps him right out of the annual and hotly contested Beards International Gnome-athlon. Failed efforts to cheat with a cloud of white butterflies and then a squirrel leave Al resigned to mediocrity. But when Gnorm gets sap in his beard, Al whips out his clippers and produces such wildly creative whiskers that all the gnomes (and not just the men, as it turns out) line up at his door demanding makeovers. All the little folk are Keebler-style cuties with jug ears and conical red caps. In at least a nod to diversity, skin tones vary in hue. Even readers not hip to the various puns will find the array of extravagantly sculptured facial hair on display chortle-worthy . . . or, as Gnorm puts it, gnome-tastic! --Peters, John Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Al the garden gnome has a cute house in a hollowed-out mushroom cap, a great job (shrubbery trimmer), and a good friend named Gnorm. What Al doesn't have is facial hair: "He tries and tries, but he can't grow a single whisker on his face" while all the other gnomes have "imperial beards and illustrious mustaches." Al feels even more like an odd gnome out when he fails at faking a beard to get inside the Beards International Gnome-athlon. But when Gnorm has a beard emergency, Al discovers his true calling-and a second use for his topiary skills-as a "gnome-tastic" stylist. The text could have used some pruning, too, and Mayer, the author of several media-tie-in books, doesn't really establish any emotional stakes-it's not like anyone is ostracizing Al. But the premise works well for debut illustrator Horton, who achieves a fine blend of the comic and the pretty in her mixed-media drawings. She renders the gnomes' idyllic garden in soft blues and greens, so that their white beards and red caps act as festive and funny punctuation marks. Ages 3-6. Illustrator's agency: Astound U.S. Illustration. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Al is the only gnome in the garden without a beard. This presents a problem at the biggest event of the gnome year: the Beards International Gnome-athalon, in which all the gnomes compete for longest, bushiest, and overall best beard. Poor Al has never been able to compete, but this year, even though he is still whiskerless, he decides to get creative and make his own beard. Al tries everything, from butterflies to a squirrel tail to moss, but nothing works. When a friend needs an emergency beard trim, Al finds his calling, and the beard competition gets taken to a whole new level. The digital illustrations are mostly in forest and earth tones, and the gnomes are cheery and expressive, with long, bushy beards. Flowers, butterflies, and bumblebees help put the gnomes' diminutive size in perspective. VERDICT A fun read-aloud about being true to oneself, perfect for small group sharing.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA © Copyright 2017. 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
A smooth-faced gnome embraces being different.Everygnome is preparing for the most important event of the year, the Beards International Gnome-athlon. Unlike most gnomes, Al can't grow a beard. How will he win a trophy for Longest Beard, Bushiest Beard, or even Overall Best Beard? Luckily, Al gets an ideabut it doesn't go over too well. His long "beard"made out of tiny white butterfliesflitters away during the first contest. During the second contest, his red bushy "beard" scampers away when the judge exposes the squirrel hiding beneath Al's hat. And his third "beard" falls before the moss can stick! Defeated, Al returns home to trim some shrubbery. When Gnorm, Al's best friend, needs help with cutting tree sap out of his beard, Al gets to work, trimming Gnorm's beard into a snappy (and different) new shape. Gnorm's new beard impresses the other gnomes, and soon Al's in very high demand. The story here leads up to a predictably upbeat ending, but Mayer wrings a lot of charm out of a thin setup, specifically through a humorous narrative voice. Full of soft colors and gentle curves, Horton's illustrations brim with detail, from each individual gnome (mostly light-skinned, including Al and Gnorm, though there are some brown-skinned ones) to the overabundant greenery. Though the story's central message falls a tad flat, it offers younger readers clear enough hope that it's OK to be different. Mostly gnomerrific. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
