My Little Sister Hugged an Ape

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A B C D E F G

H I J K L M N O P

My sister's on a hugging spree!

Hugging her way from A to Z.

Wild animals don't scare Little Sister. And to show how much she likes them, she's going to hug them all, from an Ape to a Zebra, whether they like it or not! A newt, an octopus, a porcupine . . . it's a slimy, slippery, prickly situation. What will
Little Sister hug next? And what kind of trouble will those hugs get her into?

With riotously revolting rhymes by Bill Grossman and hysterically funny art by Kevin Hawkes, kids will be laughing their way from A to Z . . . until all the animals are scared away and there's only one person left to hug!

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The creators of My Little Sister Ate One Hare here turn their attention from counting to the alphabet, echoing the playfully off-color humor of that earlier collaboration. In rollicking rhymed couplets, the camera-toting young narrator chronicles his wide-eyed sister's "hugging spree," describing her affectionate antics with a menagerie of critters from ape to zebra. More often than not, the demonstrative girl's encounters yield comically calamitous consequences, as when "My little sister hugged an eel./ She liked its slippery, slimy feel./ It tied itself up in a long, icky knot/ And hung from her nose like a big glob of snot." In other ill-fated embraces, a hog lands on top of her in "soft, gooey mud," she falls out of a kangaroo's pouch into a pricker bush and an umbrella bird lays an egg that "broke into pieces and ran down her leg." Offering some drolly-skewed perspectives, Hawkes's vividly hued, energetic illustrations match the appealing goofiness of the narrative (youngsters can almost smell the skunk's scent from the visual representation of its effects). This fanciful frolic through the alphabet gives youngsters words and images aplenty to chuckle over. Ages 5-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Quinby Frank

In this wild and crazy alphabet book, little sister continues her unusual activities begun in My Little Sister Ate One Hare. This time she hugs an assortment of surprised-looking animals from ape to zebra with the same kid-friendly slapstick hilarity. What child will be able to resist noodle-headed verses—not to mention the grossness appeal—of lines like, "My little sister hugged an eel. She liked its slippery, slimy feel. It tied itself up in a long, icky knot and hung from her nose like a big glob of snot." Delightfully nonsensical rhymes continue to rollick their way through the book. The lively, garishly colorful illustrations include large bulging goggly eyes and huge caricatured heads pictured at all angles as the characters act out their improbable antics. That tricky letter X is an X-ray of a bear. "There's nothing to squeeze," she said with a shrug. "It crumples right up when I give it a hug." This is a delightful take on the ho-hum alphabet book, and young listeners might even learn some new animals. A great read aloud! 2004, Alfred A Knopf, Ages 4 to 8.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-The exuberant and omnivorous younger sibling from this team's My Little Sister Ate One Hare (Crown, 1996) is back. Hawkes's rounded, humorous paintings interpret Grossman's manic universe-this time one in which "ABC golly gee!/My sister's on/a hugging spree!" Letter by letter, the girl enthusiastically squeezes an amusing assortment of animals. While the premise is not so fresh the second time around, the book's humor will certainly appeal to children: "My little sister hugged a NEWT,/Who climbed in her mouth because it looked cute/And crawled so far down that you hardly could spot him./All you could see sticking out was his bottom." While adults may not embrace this book, young listeners surely will.-Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews