Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Mahoney uses the titular premise as springboard to provide a humorous micro-introduction to alpacas' habits and traits. Second-person text opens with a warning: "If you're looking for a book, and the librarian happens to be an alpaca--BEWARE!!" The reasons immediately become clear with the appearance of a temperamental magenta mammal whose approach to librarianship aligns with her nature. She offers to give haircuts to make herself feel better about her annual shearing, clucks and hums endlessly, and suggests a child use a communal dung pile in lieu of a bathroom. The alpaca's animal aspects are on particular display during storytime, with narration intoning that "alpacas have a split upper lip that moves around in crazy directions when reading. Try not to stare." The Thornes' unlined renderings supply a chaotic energy communicated by vibrant colors, patterns, and occasional emanata. The effect amplifies the raucous vibe of this silly celebration of alpacas and libraries. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3--A group of children go to the library for story time only to find a wild-looking purple alpaca has taken the place of the regular librarian. And this isn't just any alpaca, but one with an attitude, who hides all of the animal books (except ones about alpacas, of course), explains what shearing is by giving a child a radical new haircut, and demonstrates how to use the "community dung pile" when one of the children asks where the bathroom is. When the children return to their classroom, they know they will have a great story to tell--only to find that their teacher is a owl. There is no deeper message here; this is a silly story about a wacky alpaca in a fun way to present facts about the actual animal. The potty humor might be a bit much, but it's sure to make kids laugh, when they aren't saying "Ewwww!" Cheerfully colored illustrations add a lighthearted touch to the story, and the facial expressions on both the children and the alpaca are sure to evoke extra giggles. VERDICT A twist on the animal-in-the-library story that is both perfect nonsense and informative.--Sue Morgan
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A cloven-hoofed librarian can't be too bad…right? A pinkish-purple-haired, blue-lidded alpaca has suddenly and inexplicably taken over the library. Alpacas may be soft and cuddly, but as the narrator (and title) warns, "Alpacas make TERRIBLE librarians!" They make distracting sounds, and their angry noises ("AHHH HEEE HAWWW HEEE") are even louder than their calm ones ("Cluck cluck cluck cluck hum hum hum hum"). Alpacas love to host storytime outside ("If there's one thing this librarian loves, it's grass"), but if you need to use the bathroom once you're out there, the alpaca will direct you to the "communal dung pile." Most importantly, don't try to check out a book about a llama--the alpaca will get very upset, and a slobbery reprimand might come flying your way. Packed with alpaca facts, the cheeky narrative might also start a discussion on censorship with young readers (the alpaca tosses out all books about other animals). Bright illustrations and energetic text placement, with tilted angles and bold-faced words, add to the chaos the alpaca brings. The younger, human library enthusiasts are a diverse bunch. Raucous storytime fun.(Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
