Pinky got out!

It's a game of spot-the-flamingo when the aptly named Pinky escapes his flock's enclosure during a class's zoo field trip. "These birds always stick together," a zookeeper tells the class-meanwhile, a sharp-eyed girl named Penny sees the bird take wing and alerts her classmates: "Pinky got out." The phrase becomes a refrain as Pinky sneaks away to hide variously among meerkats and monkeys, pandas and pythons. Making his debut, children's book app designer Portis moves the lighthearted story along while deftly incorporating facts about different animal species: "Some seals hold their breath while sleeping underwater," says the zookeeper, ever oblivious to Pinky's antics. Illustrations by Richmond (Pax and Blue) will keep readers turning pages as they search for hints of flamingo in each spread (in one, the long-legged bird, sporting snorkel gear, floats among seals; in another, he hides among stuffed monkeys in the gift shop). The kids are glad to share what they learned at the zoo: "Pinky got out!" they shout with glee. And in a final scene that lends heart to the otherwise game-like tale, Pinky perches outside Penny's window at night, sticking with the friend who sees him best. Ages 3-7. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Children on a field trip to the zoo follow the antics of Pinky the escapee flamingo.Portis' debut picture book follows Penny, a light-skinned, brown-haired little girl, and her racially diverse class on a field trip to a generic-looking zoo. Penny repeatedly exclaims that Pinky the flamingo "got out" and is hiding in various animals' enclosures, which she points out to her classmates, but the zookeeper does not believe her until Pinky pops out and startles her in the gift shop, the last stop on the tour. Pinky eventually escapes the zoo and perches on top of Penny's house in the penultimate and most charming illustration in the book. Richmond's simple, cartoon illustrations depict human characters with uniformly oversized, perfectly round heads and offer both chances to find Pinky in the background and fun, silly reveals. However, the repetitive structure of the story is weak, causing the book to lose momentum and feel unfocused. The author inelegantly weaves other lessons into the story of Pinkythe zookeeper gives brief facts about only some of the animals that appear in the illustrations and repeatedly reminds children of the importance of staying with your class while on a field trip, a lesson clearly meant to underscore the irony of Pinky's escape but that palls nevertheless.Ultimately brings nothing new to the table, though young children will enjoy spotting the titular flamingo. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.