Review by Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 1. Just right for sharing with little ones who wish they were taller, this story about Bobo the chimp reassures as well as entertains. Using very few words and expressive illustrations, Alborough depicts Bobo's attempts to be tall. Feeling small, Bobo climbs on a rock (Tall ). He feels small again after a friendly lizard, who looks pretty small himself, stands up straight. The lizard allows Bobo to get on its shoulders (Tall ). A lion cub walks by (Small ), and Bobo gets on its back (Tall ). Then Bobo proceeds to climb aboard a succession of progressively larger animals, opening the way for children to guess the animal he will scale next. One humorous spread shows Bobo atop an elephant, a kangaroo's legs showing in the background; the rest of the kangaroo is too tall for the page. When Bobo falls from the kangaroo's head, he cries Fall! but Mommy comes running to catch him. Bobo's wishing-to-grow pains will ring true with small children, and the repetition of a few simple words, set off in speech balloons, will encourage group participation. --Diane Foote Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
PW called the primate hero first introduced in Hug, "a cheerful chimp nearly as sweet as Curious George." Bobo here returns in the board book edition of Tall by Jez Alborough, finding increasingly higher perches (with a minimum of words) until a tumble takes him into the arms of his "Mommy!" (Candlewick, $6.99 32p ages 1-3 ISBN 978-0-7636-3328-8; Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Bobo, the chimp who searched for his very own embrace in the tender Hug (Candlewick, 2000), is back with a new quest in mind. He makes his way through the jungle, feeling rather small until he climbs on a rock and is convinced that he is now "tall." Unfortunately, many creatures still tower over him, even as he is lifted onto the head of a baby lion, a baby elephant, and even a giraffe before taking a dramatic tumble and being saved by his mother's nick-of-time catch. By the end, a slightly wiser Bobo is satisfied being small, while held tight in Mom's protective arms. In spite of the spare text (there are five words in all), Bobo embodies an impressive range of identifiable emotions. Alborough's adept pen-and-gouache illustrations make each feeling and point of view crystal clear through everything from slumped shoulders to delighted outstretched arms. Even the chimp's brief moments of woe are less self-pitying than simply glum. A must-have title for any children who have ever felt less than enchanted with their diminutive status.-Elizabeth Bird, New York Public Library (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.
Review by Horn Book Review
In a companion to Hug, chimp Bobo worries about his size. But when he gets on the head or shoulders of another ani?al to feel taller, he encounters someone taller still. In a predictable but satisfying ending, Bobo falls from his latest perch only to be rescued by his mother. The few words add little to what is essentially a visual story. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The lovable chimp, Bobo, of the wilds of Africa and previous title Hug (2000), returns with a desire to be taller than his small stature permits. First standing on top of a rock, his buddies--frog, lion cub, elephant calf and giraffe--help him successively reach greater heights by allowing him to stand on their shoulders or heads. When giraffe's horned head proves to be a bit too high and unsteady, Bobo wobbles and falls down to Mommy's waiting and loving arms. Two dominant alternating words, "small/tall," build to the climatic three word finale, "fall/Bobo/Mommy." The practically wordless text offers a dramatic scenario of consecutive views with large gouache and marker-pen jungle scenes in greens and pale orange/yellows. Expressive animal caricatures depict the emotions and desires of this cause-and-effect sequence story representing the wish of every child to be as big or as tall as his surrounding older siblings and friends. Endearingly simple and effective for the youngest. (Picture book. 1-3) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
