Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. Just a'struttin' and a'prancin' and bedecked to beat the band in heart-spattered drawers comes Bismark the Buffalo-but only after a remarkable metamorphosis. Bismark's friends, Zachary Zebra and Orfo the Orangutan, love underwear and journey each year to the World's Greatest Grassland Underwear Fair, buying all manner of multihued and patterned undergarments. At first grumpy Bismark eschews any notion of having fun and snorts, ``Underwear is useless!'' Well perhaps, but a challenge from Zachary to say the word underwear ten times without laughing brings first a scowl, then a ``tee hee . . . ha, ha. Oh, that feels good,'' and finally a full-scale explosion. Munsinger's zany pen-and-ink perky-colored illustrations are a perfect foil for the text. Renderings of hulking, shaggy Bismark take him from forlorn to frolicsome, gently underscoring the message, ``It is a tragedy to be clever but not happy.'' A great read-aloud choice. PW. Buffaloes-Fiction / Grassland animals-Fiction / Underwear-Fiction [CIP] 87-25419
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
An idea with built-in kid-appeal: tell a story about underwear and bring in an artist to add lots of funny touches to each pair of boxer shorts. But one section of the story is a rather contrived morsel about friends who make a grumpy buffalo laugh by making him say aloud the word ``underwear.'' Much more fun is the part when grassland animals Orfo the Orangutan and Zachary the Zebra attend the ``World's Greatest Grassland Underwear Fair'' and stock up on their favorite styles. And best of all are Munsinger's pictures of them wearing all those bright and witty styles at once. Ages 3-7. (January) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2 Nothing is as sure to elicit giggles in the primary grades as the mention of underwear, and this book relies heavily on that premise. The sto ry is slight. Zachary Zebra and his best friend, Orfo the Orangutan, love un derwear, and each year the two friends visit the World's Greatest Grassland Underwear Fair. Their fun is damp ened only by grumpy Bismark the Buf falo, who is such a grouch that even the parasitic bugs on his body desert him. He is not amused by underwear until he is challenged to repeat the word ten times without laughing. Of course, after a few repetitions, he be gins to chortle and children, like Bis mark, will be overcome with laughter by the final shout of ``underwear.'' What could have been an unbelievable moralistic tale (could one's whole disposition really change with a few repetitions of a silly word?) is saved by Munsinger's delightful illustrations. Her animals are full of frolicsome fun, and the variety of underwear is appropriately zany. Children will be unable to resist Zachary and Orfo as they cavort in the trees with underwear donned as hats and numerous pairs trailing from their limbs. Sheer frivolous fun. Lori A. Janick, Parkwood Elementary School, Pasadena, Tex. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
