Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco: Two Polar Bears on a Mission to Save the Klondike Cafe!

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Right up front we'll say that the song "Victor Vito" is a much better song than it is a story. However, if you read the book while listening to the CD, you'll have a fun (and nonsensical) illustrated-song experience. Fortunately, the CD is included in the back, and features the songs "Victor Vito" and the catchy "Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)," both written and performed by Berkner. Plus, the music to "Victor Vito" (with all four verses) is printed in the back for those wanting to create a festive and musical story hour.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Children's singer/songwriter Laurie Berkner brings one of her bebopping songs to the page, telling a food-filled tale about two Alaskan polar bears off to save their café.

Illustrated with zippy artwork by Henry Cole, Berkner's whimsical excursion begins with a note from the two bears, Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco, about their decision "to drive through the United States and taste different treats in New Mexico, Louisiana, and New York" in order to bring new dishes back for their grumpy café customers (they're "fed up with fish"). Readers follow along with Berkner's lyrics -- each page is also marked with newspaper headlines to help clarify the plot -- to see Victor and Freddie make their way from Alaska to New Mexico, where they "ate a burrito with Tabasco. They put it on their rice. They put it on their beans"; to Louisiana for some rutabagas and collard greens; and then to New York for spaghetti in Little Italy. Meanwhile, the folks back at the Klondike Café get a load of Victor and Freddie's postcards, and after the two explorers return for the grand reopening, the happy eaters all get a sumptuous feast topped off with plates of spaghetti.

Packaged with a CD of Berkner singing "Victor Vito" and another hit, "Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)!," this rollicking read will have kids tapping their toes and aching for spaghetti! The singer's lyrics make for a surprisingly peppy lesson about regional foods and teamwork, while Cole's artwork provides a storyline that's sure to keep children in stitches. For winning sing-along storytimes, pair this winner with They Might Be Giants' Bed, Bed, Bed or Sandra Boynton's Philadelphia Chickens. Matt Warner

ANNOTATION

Two polar bears take a road trip across the United States to find exciting new foods to serve at their Klondike Cafe. Includes sheet music and road trip map.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Packaged with a C D single of this huge hit song, kids can now sing the lyrics as the words come to life on these pages, in the form of road-tripping, food-obsessed polar bears, complete with their very own convertible VW Beetle! Victor Vito and his sidekick, Freddie Vasco, leave their failed Klondike Café in search of zesty new foods from around the fifty states, making stops in New Mexico for burritos, Louisiana for rutabagas and collard greens, and NYC's Little Italy for the spaghetti that made this song famous!

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Musician and children's performer Berkner (Victor Vito, Under a Shady Tree) adapts one of her fun-flavored tunes as a picture book. Unfortunately, what works so well as a catchy, silly sing-along in concert isn't as successful in print. Here, Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco take on the guise of two polar bears who own a caf in Alaska. With their customers tiring of the same old local fish fare, the duo decides to close up shop and travel the lower 48 in search of new taste treats and recipes. The trip is chronicled like so: "Victor Vito and Eddie Vasco/ ate a burrito with Tabasco./ They put it on their rice./ They put it on their beans/ on their rutabagas/ and on their collard greens." This verse, and the refrain, "Hey Victor!/ Hey Freddie!/ Let's eat some spaghetti," repeats several times, which makes for a scattershot plot. Finally, the bears return home with a revamped menu in mind. Cole's nimble watercolors bring readers on a quick coast-to-coast culinary adventure, clearly stretching the song beyond its borders. Humorous details include the friendly, lumbering Victor and Freddie loading up their Volkswagen Beetle with supplies, and the walrus cooks and seal waitresses back in Alaska reading postcards from their bear bosses. A CD recording containing Berkner's infectiously fun performance of "Victor Vito" and another of her original tunes, "Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)," is included. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Those crazy polar bears, Victor and Freddie, own the Klondike caf￯﾿ﾽ but their customers are sick of eating fish (the only thing these two know how to fix). They start on a trek that takes them from Alaska to the far southwest where they try burritos, beans and rice, then into the deep south for corn bread and collards at Chez Crawfish. The really big hit is spaghetti in none other than New York City's Little Italy. They head back with all their newfound delicacies and readers are also given a chance to see customers and staff of the Klondike Caf￯﾿ﾽ reading postcards that have been sent by the polar bear duo. There is great excitement when they return and spruce up the caf￯﾿ﾽ and introduce all these ethnic foods to their clientele. Henry Cole manages to give all of the creatures in this story some personality. The seal waitresses even manage to look sexy while sunbathing, and I loved the name on one of the uniforms (Cesealia). There are so many extra bits of humor in the drawings that they merit a second look. The jukebox at Chez Crawfish has the manufacture's name as "Bon Temps" and the waiters are an alligator and a muskrat. Young and old will enjoy this book and of course, the CD with Laurie Berkner performing "Victor Vito," "Laurie (talking)" and "Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)" are just icing on the proverbial cake. 2004, Orchard Books/Scholastic, Ages 4 to 8.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-Berkner's children's song is "set to story" in this colorful picture book. Victor and Freddie, two polar bears who own the Klondike Cafe in Alaska, decide they need to spice up their menu. They close their restaurant, give their walrus cooks and seal waitresses a vacation, hop into a convertible VW bug, and travel around America to find new flavors. From burritos in New Mexico to collard greens in Louisiana, and spaghetti in New York, they load up with different foods. Once home, they are joined by a party of critters at the Cafe to celebrate their new cuisine. Cole's lush cartoon illustrations sprawl across the pages as the bears take in the scenery and tasty treats during their excursion. Added touches like the vacationing staff lolling on the beach and reading their bosses' postcards enlarge upon the slight lyrics. Children familiar with the song will enjoy the nuttiness of the story and even those who don't know it will appreciate the bears' antics. With its rhythmic lyrics and refrains, this is a fine choice for group sharing and would be fun to pair with the CD for a multimedia storytime.-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews