Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a lively interactive counting book from the team behind Just Right for Christmas, verse with a nursery rhyme-like cadence follows along as a young warthog explores the landscape surrounding his village. Surprises are revealed under flaps shaped like bushes, flowers, and boulders, each leading to the warthog's next small adventure: "A warthog went a-wandering,/ swishing through the grass./ He looked up at the big blue sky/ and watched the clouds drift past./ He found five lovely flowers.../ he found six butterflies./ One landed on his snuffly nose,/ which gave him a surprise!" After meeting nine monkeys, the warthog spots 10 large footprints, which belong to a lion that chases him home. Accented with vividly patterned details, Beardshaw's mixed-media artwork contributes significantly to the story's physical comedy and sense of adventure. Ages 3-7. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Warthog goes a-wandering in this lift-the-flap counting adventure. Along the way, as he gets farther and farther from home, he counts different objects, such as berries and birds, and different numbers hidden behind flaps. Warthog eventually wanders too far and finds a lion ready to eat him. Luckily, he makes it back home safe and sound. Bright mixed-media illustrations bring extra zing to the rhyming text, and readers will enjoy looking for the sneaky lion hiding on each spread. While children will appreciate the lift-the-flap elements, weak construction will make for few checkouts before damage occurs. VERDICT This engaging, tactile offering will be a supplemental purchase for most libraries.-Brooke Newberry, La Crosse Public Library, WI © 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
An anthropomorphic warthog encounters items, animals, and plants in quantities from one through 10 while exploring the savanna that surrounds his African home.Jaunty rhyming verses describe each discovery, from "one scoop of honey" through "ten footprints, pair by pair," but numerals appear only on the endpapers, not within Black's text. Each verse begins with the phrase, "A warthog went a-wandering," a pleasing repetition that adds a sense of structure. Most of the things the warthog finds pose no real threat ("two angry bees" are easily eluded) or appear friendly, like the fluttering butterflies, but the footprints do lead him into a potentially perilous encounter. Luckily, if implausibly, he escapes and scampers home safely. Beardshaw's attractive collage-and-paint illustrations provide a colorful if generic setting and plenty of details to pore over. Varying patterns and textures add interest to the simple stylized shapes. The inclusion of a lurking lion in several scenes foreshadows the final encounter; his cheerful cartoon-style expression should reassure young listeners that all ends well. Differently sized and shaped flaps, some with cutouts, conceal some lines of the text and open to reveal clever transformations. Unfortunately, the storyline meanders, more a vehicle for the counting exercise than an actual plot. The winsome warthog is appealing as he blithely hops, splashes, hums, and wanders his way through his day, but it doesn't quite add up to an exciting adventure. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
