Wild About Books FROM THE PUBLISHER
A librarian named Mavis McGrew introduces the animals in the zoo to the joy of reading when she drives her bookmobile to the zoo by mistake.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Sierra (Silly and Sillier) and Brown dedicate this spirited volume to Theodor Seuss Geisel, to whom they give several affectionate nods (including a meter akin to And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street). After the Springfield (Dr. Seuss's hometown) librarian one day drives her bookmobile into the zoo, she settles into a chair with a book: "By reading aloud from the good Dr. Seuss,/ She quickly attracted a mink and a moose,/ A wombat, an oryx, a lemur, a lynx,/ Eight elephant calves, and a family of skinks." As the zoo's residents eagerly descend on the bookmobile, their species-appropriate selections will elicit chuckles from kids: a monkey grabs for a banana cookbook, two crocodiles open Peter Pan to the page featuring the croc that swallows a clock, giraffes pore over "tall books" (devoted to basketball, redwood trees, skyscrapers) and hyenas read joke books. Sierra's cleverly rhymed verse includes many playful embellishments, such as "Raccoons read alone and baboons read in bunches./ And llamas read dramas while eating their llunches." The critters then become wild about writing as well and pen so many new books that the librarian enlists their help to build a library branch at the zoo. Packed with funny flourishes, Brown's atwork reflects a loose, free style; his bustling paintings capture this endearing menagerie's antics. A winning paean to reading and writing. Ages 4-8. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature - Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D.
Imagine the animals' surprise when Molly McGrew, the Springfield librarian, mistakenly drove her bookmobile into the zoo. Unperturbed, she brought out her chair and attracted an interesting assortment of listeners as she read The Cat in the Hat out loud. The word spread quickly and all of the animals rushed over to find out about this new something called reading. Rising to the occasion, Molly began distributing books in all directions. She found tall books for the giraffes, small books for the crickets, books in Chinese for the pandas, and waterproof books for the otters. The hyenas and snakes laughed together as they read books of riddles. Then Molly began teaching about treating books right. The boa constrictor had squeezed Crictor too tight and the termites devoured The Wizard of Oz. After a lot of reading, some of the animals decided they could be authors. The insects wrote haiku and the cheetah wrote a novel. The hippo's memoir won the Zoolitzer Prize. A branch library was needed. The animals began building it and Molly brought the books. The Zoobrary was so successful that visitors had to search for the animals in niches, nests, and nooks where they were happily reading their books. The snappy rhyming text is perfectly complimented with exuberant full-page illustrations featuring charming and curious animals as they discover the joys of reading with the vivacious Molly McGrew. A wonderful read-aloud. 2004, Knopf, Ages 3 to 6.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-In a rhyming text that is both homage to and reminiscent of Dr. Seuss's epic rhyming sagas, Sierra spins the tale of librarian Molly McGrew who mistakenly drives the bookmobile to the zoo. The various denizens are attracted to her read-alouds and soon are reading, writing, rhyming, and going wild about those wonderful books. With Molly's encouragement, the animals start their own Zoobrary so they can read to their hearts' content. Sierra's text has a wacky verve and enough clever asides and allusions to familiar characters to satisfy bibliophiles of all ages. The author's sense of playfulness in plot and language ("llamas read while eating their llunches"; a hippo wins the "Zoolitzer Prize") creates a lavish literary stew. Comic moments abound, including bugs writing haiku and unruly bears licking illustrations right off the page (until Molly gently teaches them how to treat books properly). Brown's cheerful, full-color illustrations stretch his trademark art with ever-so-slightly stylized spreads that are rich in pattern, texture, and nuance. On each spread, he plays with perspective and layout to create an electric sense of excitement as the animals discover what kids have known for a long time-reading is fun!-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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