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YOU CAN’T SEE A DODO AT THE ZOO

Name: YOU CAN’T SEE A DODO AT THE ZOO
Author: Fred Ehrlich
ISBN: 1-59354-072-8

by Fred Ehrlich & illustrated by Amanda Haley ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2005

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Ehrlich and Haley team up again in this informative exploration of extinct and endangered animals. In clear and descriptive language, Ehrlich explains why the animals are gone or almost gone. He peppers the text with poems, too, but they’re a distraction. Many of them are just plain uninspired, including the titular verse: “Oh you can’t see a dodo at the zoo. / You can look until your face is turning blue. / Even if it makes you mad, / Or very, very sad, / You still can’t see a dodo at the zoo.” Haley’s playful illustrations, which appear to be rendered in pen and ink, have a childlike appeal. Though flawed, this is a good introduction to the subject and will likely whet reader’s appetites. (glossary) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-10)

Pub Date: April 1, 2005

ISBN: 1-59354-072-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Blue Apple

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
A BUNNY IS FUNNY
by Harriet Ziefert and Fred Ehrlich & illustrated by Todd McKie

- BOOK REVIEW
YOU CAN’T LAY AN EGG IF YOU’RE AN ELEPHANT
by Fred Ehrlich & illustrated by Amanda Haley

- BOOK REVIEW
DOES A SEAL SMILE?
by Fred Ehrlich & illustrated by Emily Bolam

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DIARY OF A SPIDER

by Doreen Cronin & illustrated by Harry Bliss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2005

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The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005

ISBN: 0-06-000153-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
MAMA IN THE MOON
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin

- BOOK REVIEW
LAWRENCE & SOPHIA
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin

- BOOK REVIEW
CLICK, CLACK, GOOD NIGHT
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Betsy Lewin

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)