Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Children will have a field day spotting all the ways in which two-time Kate Greenaway Award nominee Woodcock (Hiding Heidi, 2016) works double o's into the illustrations of this exceedingly clever picture book. Using a simple trip to the zoo as an amusing device by which to define a day, Woodcock follows a brother and sister as they zoom off to see a kangaroo, whose boxing gloves play at being letters, as do the eyes of a panda, scoops of ice cream, soap bubbles, and many more objects. In fact, every word in the book telling the story contains a pair of o's, which means that this book works equally well as an easy-reading primer as it does a picture book. The illustrations, which incorporate handmade paper, stencils, and printing techniques, have a fuzzy, friendly feel. They rely on simplicity and a color palette in cheerful pinkish reds and cerulean blues perfect colors for a summer read to signal fun. Repeating motifs of triangles, stripes, and other simple shapes add more playfulness. This really is a cool book for language-loving kids. For all readers, it's a visual treat that's wonderfully effective in encouraging its readers to appreciate the look of words.--Karen Cruze Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Beginning with the title, this picture-book compendium of words with double oo's finds visual fun in the letters' shapes. On the first page, two fried eggs fill in the middle letters of food, while a speeding car's tires represent the oo's in zoom on the next spread. There's no narrative, but each scene offers an intriguing scenario, and recurring characters-two children, perhaps siblings-provide continuity as they visit a zoo (their faces form the oo's in hooray), enjoy ice cream (the round top of a luscious cone appears in scoop), and head home for a bath and bedtime (two teddy bears form the oo's in good night). The story elements may be slight, but vibrantly colored illustrations by Woodcock (Hiding Heidi), made with hand-cut stencils and printing techniques, burst with playful energy. Taken together, the scenes create an appealing visual game that will encourage kids to think about word patterns and, perhaps, draw their own spin-offs. Ages 4-8. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-A brother and sister wake up, have breakfast, and spend the day at the zoo with their mom. After an exciting trip, they return home and enjoy their bedtime routine. The seemingly unexceptional plot is enlivened via clever word choices and illustrations that make this story a standout. A single word (food, zoom, baboon) appears on each graphically interesting page, incorporating its double "o" into the art. At first glance, the words might seem random but the ingenious story line becomes clear after just a few pages. Fresh and bold mixed media artwork includes rubber stamps, stencils, and BLO pens, and often blends the hand-lettered text in assorted font with the illustrations. Laid out on expansive light backgrounds, the artwork invites young readers to look and look again. VERDICT Playful fun, this engaging read-aloud will be welcome in most collections.-Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University © Copyright 2018. 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
The text of this clever and eye-catching picture book consists solely of words containing double os. Pictures follow two siblings through a day as they wake up to look at the rising sun, go on an outing to the zoo (where they see baboons, buy some balloons, and drool over a few scoops of ice cream), then head home to a bedtime routine of bathroom, shampoo, book, and goodnight. Each double-o word is incorporated into the art in a hand-lettered text, so that the os in the word food at breakfast are represented by round fried eggs; in zoom, as mom drives the kids to the zoo, by the tires on their car; in shampoo, by two soap bubbles, etc.; kid-pleasingly, the os in bathroom are toilet-paper rolls. The art, hand-cut rubber stamps, stencils, BLO pens, and additional pencil line work, all composed digitally, is colorful, lively, and sometimes silly (a kangaroo in the zoo, for instance, wears boxing gloves--?and of course the two gloves form the os in the word kangaroo). With its satisfying narrative arc and imaginative wordplay, this picture book is pretty cool. martha v. Parravano (c) Copyright 2018. 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
A sibling pair experiences their world through words with a double O. Two pajama-clad kids stretch as the sun rises over farmland, the yellow orb simultaneously creating an "o" in the title "LOOK," setting the stage for Woodcock's graphic play on the double O. Sunny-side-up eggs make "FOOD" for breakfast before the family car's tires "ZOOM" them to the zoo. The search for the double Os continues with more park fun, as kangaroos, cockatoos, baboons, and balloons delight the siblings. After heading home, bath bubbles result from their "shampoo" before the two curl up with a good "BOOK." The children, with their blue-black hair and peach complexions, "snooze" under a starlit sky, the full "moon" high above. The illustrations, done in a primary palette, have a simplicity that makes each shape immediately identifiable. Through the use of hand-cut rubber stamps and stencils, airbrush-like pens, and pencil linework that's then digitally composited, Woodcock creates art that feels hand-crafted, warm, and extremely appealing. Much like Ed Emberley's Drawing Books series, there is an overall theme with interesting images from page to pageeach spread creating its own tableau within a loose narrative structure. But upon repeat visits, readers may find a more intentional rhythm to the tale, one that takes readers on a journey from morning excitement to evening sleep.A delightful exploration of a thematic concept, exceptionally designed and thoroughly charming. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
