Hi, Fly Guy
by Tedd Arnold
Published 2005 by Cartwheel Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0439639034

Find this book in our catalog.

Jacket Notes:

"A fly was flying. He was looking for something to eat. Something tasty. Something slimy. A boy was walking. He was looking for something to catch. Something smart. Something for The Amazing Pet Show." The boy and fly meet and so begins a beautiful friendship. Er, and so begins a very funny friendship. Using hyperbole, puns, slapstick, and silly drawings, bestselling author/illustrator Tedd Arnold creates an easy reader that is full of fun. With an eye-catching holographic cover. This is the first in a series of four.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 07/18/2005

A fly went flying," opens Arnold's (Parts) brief, playful tale, structured in three chapters. At the same time, "A boy went walking." The winged fellow is looking for food and the boy is searching for a critter for the upcoming Amazing Pet Show. The two equally and comically bug-eyed beings meet when the fly collides with the human hero's nose ("boink ") and the lad captures it in a glass jar. After the infuriated insect stomps his foot and says, "Buzz! " the amazed boy replies, "You know my name! You are the smartest pet in the world!" Buzz shows his new pet, which he names Fly Guy, to his parents; his father announces that flies are pests and grabs a swatter--until the sly fly lands on Buzz's nose and calls him by name. In one of the book's funniest pictures, Fly Guy is dwarfed by the hot dog Buzz places in his jar, most of which he happily consumes. Though the pet show judges tell Buzz that flies don't qualify as pets, Fly Guy rises to the occasion and wows the judges with various feats, clinching the prize for smartest pet. Suitably wacky cartoon art accompanies the text, which is simple enough for beginning readers ready to soar to a chapter-book format. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

02/01/2006 REVIEW: School Library Journal

K-Gr 2 -A boy goes out searching for a smart animal to take to -The Amazing Pet Show- and bumps into a fly that is intelligent enough to say the child-s name, -Buzz.- Although his parents and the judges feel at first that a fly is only a pest, not a pet, the insect puts on a performance that astounds them all and wins an award. The cartoon illustrations showing characters with exaggerated wide eyes are delightful, but the text is somewhat weak and disjointed.-Anne Knickerbocker, formerly at Cedar Brook Elementary School, Houston, TX

Waiting for Gregory
by Kimberly Willis Holt
Published 2006 by Henry Holt & Company

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0805073884

Find this book in our catalog.

Jacket Notes:

The first picture book from National Book Award winner Kimberly Willis Holt

"When exactly" is cousin Gregory going to be born? asks little Iris. Each family member has a different answer to her question. While she's waiting for what seems like forever, Iris thinks about all the exciting things she and her new cousin will someday do together. And given Iris' vibrant imagination, there's no telling what to expect. National Book Award winner Kimberly Willis Holt offers a unique take on some of the traditional and not-so-traditional myths surrounding a baby's arrival, with an extra layer of imagination added by Gabi Swiatkowska's fresh and whimsical paintings.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 04/24/2006

Holt's (When Zachary Beaver Came to Town ) affectionate story of awaiting a new baby touches on the many myths associated with this joyous event. When young Iris hears that Aunt Athena is expecting a baby boy, to be called Gregory, she eagerly asks everyone, "When will Gregory be here-" Grandpa says Gregory will arrive "when the giant stork flies across the sky and drops over your aunt's house." Grandma says he'll be tucked under a cabbage in the garden. And Iris's friend Lacey says to relax until her aunt has eaten "a thousand chocolate-chip ice cream sundaes with sour pickles on top." But waiting for Gregory has its rewards: when Iris finally holds the newborn in her arms, she realizes there is a time and reason for everything. "Soon, but not too soon, though not too long at all," says Iris, echoing the adults from the earlier pages, "Gregory will be waiting for me." In her artwork, Swiatkowska (My Name Is Yoon ) elegantly muses on the elasticity of time and the mystery of gestation. She unmoors her characters from geography and gravity; they float in austere, brush-stroked spaces. Iris is a cross between Velázquez's infanta and a rococo shepherdess; her friend Lacey could have stepped right out of Renoir'sTwo Little Circus Girls . A stunning final close-up of Iris cuddling the baby seems to be composed of bubbles of pearly, rosy light, bringing the more abstract images back to the cozily familiar. This is one for all ages. Ages 4-7(Apr.)

03/01/2006 REVIEW: School Library Journal

Gr 1-4 -It-s no surprise that the exquisitely rendered child attired in 18th-century clothing on the title page, her mouth open, eyes alight, is an inquisitive little girl. Iris is anxiously awaiting a cousin-s birth, but when she asks when it will happen, she receives some outlandish answers. Grandpa says the baby will come -When the giant stork flies across the sky and drops him over your aunt-s house.- Grandma says he will grow under a cabbage. Mr. Conner says he will come after the nine months it takes to build a ladder to the clouds and get him. Only Momma gives the little girl a bead on the truth. But it still takes a long time, and when Gregory does arrive, Iris must continue to wait to build a snowman with him. Swiatkowska-s familiar swirls of paint are evident in the pictures inspired by French artists and circus themes. The myths Iris hears about Gregory-s birth appear throughout in surreal paintings and drawings-a stork moves along on a pulley to make its delivery; clocks mark the passage of time; animals, charts, and weird-looking inventions abound. There is more to discover with each viewing. Waiting for an infant to be born is not a new theme in picture books, but the mixed-media illustrations here make this rendition unique.-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT

Jackie and the Shadow Snatcher
by Larry Di Fiori
Published 2006 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Library Binding, English. ISBN: 0375975152

Find this book in our catalog.

Jacket Notes:

Jackie is on his way home from school when he discovers that his shadow is gone! Did he lose it just like he lost his lunch pail and math book or could this be the work of the elusive Shadow Snatcher? With the help of his bulldog, Buster, and Mr. Socrates (the smartest man in the world), Jackie attempts a daring rescue to save his shadow from the Shadow Snatcher, who has sinister plans to conceal his crimes under a cloak of stolen shadows. Using a graphic-novel-inspired style for the artwork, Larry Di Fiori has created an old-fashioned caper perfect for keeping five- to eight-year-olds on the edge of their seats.

"From the Hardcover edition."

07/01/2006 REVIEW: School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2 -A debut picture book done in a graphic-novel format and set in the 1920s. While Jackie walks home from school, his shadow is stolen from him. Alerted to the theft by his bulldog, Baxter, the boy tries to find it. His elderly friend, Mr. Socrates, helps. They realize that the infamous Shadow Snatcher has escaped from prison and re-embarked on his life of crime. Jackie-s shadow is eventually retrieved and the robbers are last seen being chased by the coppers. The boxed black-and-white pencil cartoons give the book a nostalgic tone. There is quite a bit of dialogue, much of which would need to be read aloud to children, and many of the references to mystery-genre conventions will go over their heads. Di Fiori is better at drawing evocative and sophisticated buildings and landscapes than he is at people, and Baxter is the most effectively drawn and animated-looking character. There is a need for comics/graphic novels for younger readers; this one is not a necessary purchase, but may help fill some of that void.-B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY

Olivia Forms a Band
by Ian Falconer
Published 2006 by Atheneum Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 141692454X

Find this book in our catalog.

Jacket Notes:

Lavishly brought to life in Falconer's signature style, and introducing an eye-catching shade of blue, here is Olivia doing what Olivia does best--making noise. Full color.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 04/03/2006

After demonstrating that she could perform in not one butall of the star attractions under the Big Top in Olivia Saves the Circus , the hoofed heroine here proves that she can be a one-piglet band. When Olivia discovers that there will be no band to accompany the summer fireworks, she announces, "I know!We'll be the band!" Once more, Falconer's mastery of detail and pacing results in outlandish comedy. On the left, a stop-action scene conveys the family's response-a wide-eyed look of panic; on the right-hand page, cat and dog take off in opposite directions, baby William crawls away, and Olivia's father hides behind a newspaper. " 'Fine,' said Olivia. 'I'll be the band.' " Falconer again uses his signature vignettes to comical effect in a kind of comic strip succession, as Olivia, sporting a red polka-dot union suit, gives baby William a bottle in exchange for his xylophone, and trades toddler Ian a cookie jar for his drum; a show-stopping sextet of spot illustrations depicts Olivia removing her father's suspenders to reveal red polka-dot boxers ("Look, Daddy, we're twins"). When Olivia emerges as a multi-tasking piglet in a sky-blue striped unitard, Daddy's suspenders (they hold the xylophone and drum in place) and a pot lid on each foot, a gatefold exhibits fantasy images of Olivia as drummer, flautist, tuba player and more, beneath four-plus measures of classic marching music. The band may not have made it to the picnic, but Olivia gets the last laugh-and so do readers. Another crowd-pleasing performance for the porcine starlet and her creator. Ages 3-7.(June)

06/01/2006 REVIEW: School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3 -The latest escapades of a precocious piglet and the mother who attempts to both nurture and civilize her opens on the morning of a fireworks display. The charcoal-and-gouache scenes with their signature red highlights on uncluttered white backgrounds depict Olivia-s family, but readers are soon treated to a series of surprises that include the introduction of a new color (turquoise), collage elements, a fold-out, and full bleeds. When the protagonist declares that a band is essential for the evening-s entertainment and that, lacking one, she-ll fill in, her mother-s thought bubble fills with a photograph of a leaping rock band; Olivia-s depicts the marching variety. The fold-out starts with the heroine as the sole majorette and reveals a full-size band of Olivias, with the score of a Sousa-like march printed boldly above. Falconer builds to a crescendo of two and a half pages that portray a picnic at sunset followed by a dazzling display of feathery fireworks. These compositions are predominantly charcoal; the family members, backs to readers, are outlined in the reflected yellow glow of an ascending rocket. The palette returns to the original color scheme in the denouement, a bedtime moment to which all ages will relate. With perfectly nuanced dialogue and a mixture of comical and artful scenes, Falconer explores the logic, invention, and humor emanating from a talented youngster, serious about the mission of the moment.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library