Review by Booklist Review
Constructed along the same lines as Venable's Mervin the Sloth Is about to Do the Best Thing in the World (2016), this metafictional episode matches a furry yarn-spinner with a rain of big letters that drop into sight to trumpet the titular announcement. Amy is eager to oblige, but hardly does she get past Once upon a time than she's overwhelmed with suggestions and corrections from animal friends. With so many choices to make, what's a red panda (or any writer, for that matter) to do? Chan places her simply drawn figures against a blank, spacious backdrop that soon becomes crowded with dialogue balloons. Amy falls into such a severe case of writer's block that even the floating letters all tumble to the floor, but, eventually, a simple story emerges one that will draw the wayward audience members back and leave them eager for more. Young would-be writers who are likewise stuck will come away with fresh resolve as well as a passel of potential story starters.--Peters, John Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Letters rain down as Amy, an adorable red panda, strives to write the best story in the world, with questionable assistance and constant suggestions from her friends in the animal kingdom. The text is delivered exclusively through dialogue, which makes this story challenging to read aloud; there are multiple speech bubbles on each page. Fortunately, it's the illustrations that really tell the story of the characters and their feelings through humor and expression. VERDICT A lighthearted look at the storytelling process, best suited for one-on-one and small group sharing. Not a necessary purchase, but a justifiable one. -Betsy Davison, Cortland Jr. Sr. High School, NY © 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 paean to playfulness and following one's own vision as essential to creativity. In this follow-up to Mervin the Sloth Is About to Do the Best Thing in the World (2016), the eponymous red panda attempts to write a story. A bevy of animals (who'll be familiar to readers of the prior title) helpfully offer ideas, but their onslaught of input ends up paralyzing poor Amy rather than inspiring her. Chan's crowded, cartoon-style illustrations contribute to the depiction of this less-than-supportive environment as the repeated main text (the words of the title) is overwhelmed by a mounting crowd of animals with speech-balloon suggestions while Amy cowers to the side. Beside her is calm and quiet Mervin, who ultimately offers a playful solution to the conundrum Amy faces: in a metafictive turn, after a gazelle bumps loose the letter O from the word "world," he tosses it about. Distraught Amy is initially oblivious to his playful gestures, but when she catches on she's eager to join him in a "LETTER FIGHT!!!" In perhaps an underwhelming payoff on the title's promise, their fun inspires Amy to retrieve some of the fallen letters and write "Amy and Mervin had a fun day" as her "best story in the world." A story that may encourage readers to be writers, too. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
