Review by Booklist Review
One moonlit night, Bear wants to play, but his forest friends prefer to sleep. He heads for "people town," where he finds something wonderful. "The Thingity-Jig was a springy thing. A bouncy thing. A sit-on-it, hop-on-it, bounce-on-it thing," depicted as a cast-off, dilapidated sofa. Racing home, he urges his friends to help him haul it back. After they decline, he builds a Rolly-Rumpety, a wheeled transport device. But how will he move the Thingity-Jig onto it? He runs home, but his buddies turn him down again. After devising a Lifty-Uppity and a Pushy-Poppity, the engineering whiz reaches home with the Thingity-Jig at dawn. His delighted friends hog the bouncy plaything, until Bear demands his turn and promptly falls asleep. Making the most of Bear's wacky, ingenious contraptions, the appealing artwork rewards curious viewers with visual details that reappear in different contexts as the story unfolds. The well-constructed text rolls along in a satisfying way, enhanced by the devices' inventive names, which are uniquely fitting and great fun to read aloud. A dynamic, enjoyable picture book.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2--4--One sleepless night, a very tiny bear leaves his forest home to find fun in "people town." He is entranced by the garbage. Some of it is fun (a flute), some not so much (a stinky mattress). His favorite is the "thingity-jig," which readers will recognize as an abandoned sofa. Bear is small, about the size of a throw pillow, so he cannot move the sofa himself. His friends cannot help because they are all asleep. So Bear invents a variety of contraptions that help him transport the thingity-jig back to the woods. The action unfolds against Litten's illuminating nightscapes, enveloped in rich purple shadows that contrast beautifully with the shining yellow light from windows. As the sun rises, the scenes masterfully transition to the warm orange morning. Doherty's text is at its most playful, with all manner of funny words, when Bear constructs his inventions. Her rhyming text on those pages is bouncy and fun. Once the couch is returned to the forest, the story shifts abruptly into a theme about sharing; the animals that would not help Bear take over his beloved, hard-won sofa and play on it until he yells. End papers show a quiet forest at night and a habitat teeming with excitement and ingenuity inspired by Bear's creativeness. VERDICT A celebration of inventiveness, in both contraption and language, this book is a lovely addition to larger collections.--Chance Lee Joyner, Haverhill P.L., MA
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
It's late at night, but Bear just wants to play. His woodland friends are all asleep, so he goes to "people town" to find some fun. There, he discovers a Thingity-Jig.It's bouncy and springy, just right for lots of fun, but very large and heavy. In great excitement and eagerness, he runs all the way back to the woods to enlist his friends' help. But they want to continue sleeping and urge him to wait until morning. Bear is too excited to do that, and being extremely resourceful, he builds a device, a Rolly-Rumpity, to bring his find home. But he can't manage the load by himself and tries again without success to involve his friends. This formula is repeated as he builds yet more contraptions, a Lifty-Uppity and a Pushy-Poppity, and he finally succeeds as the sun rises. Now his friends are awake and ready to play. When Bear finally climbs aboard for his turn, he instantly falls asleep. Although the tale mimics the pattern of "The Little Red Hen," there is no laziness, meanness, or retribution here. Bear is unfailingly enthusiastic, creative, and generous. Rabbit, Fox, and Raccoon really do appreciate Bear, at least when they're awake. Doherty's joyous, inventive, action-packed language begs to be shouted out loud. The moonlit night sparkles in town and city as Litten's fanciful illustrations fill in the details of the tale and showcase Bear's inventiveness. Little readers might want to create their own Thingity-Jigs. A delightful, rollicking, joyous romp. (Picture book. 3-8) (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
