Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
It's Saturday night, and one little owl is ready to party: "Hootenanny, hootenanny-it's time for fun./ Hootenanny, hootenanny-the party has begun!" He awakens a red owl, and as the two friends greet three more owls, each introduces a celebratory ingredient-music, "boogie shoes," and party hats-before repeating the Hootenanny refrain. Ainsworth's rhymes have a gentle sway, which are well matched by Brown's chalky collages and ovoid owls dressed to the nines. A gently boisterous read-aloud that delivers on its promise of fun. Ages 2-5. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Five owls help youngsters learn to count from one to five as they get ready for a party at the top of an old oak tree. The first little owl showers, brushes his teeth, and is ready to go. He wakes a sleepy friend, who dons a comical spotted bow tie and accompanies him on his journey. "Now 2 owls are ready to play." The friends then stop by to collect a third owl, who plays the saxophone. "A party's not a party without a happy tune." Before long, the fourth and the fifth owl join the parade of revelers, and they march, dance, and prance on their way to the gathering, which is in full swing. After each owl joins the procession, a toe-tapping refrain is repeated: "Hootenanny, hootenanny-it's time for fun. Hootenanny, hootenanny-the party has begun." The text is printed in a large, easy-to-read font with each numeral highlighted in a different color. The bright spreads feature a rainbow of colors, smiling characters, and some humorous details. With its jazzy vocabulary and cheerful illustrations, the book lives up to its title. This festive title may be paired with a longer counting book like Eric Carle's adventurous 10 Little Rubber Ducks (HarperCollins, 2005).-Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA (c) Copyright 2011. 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 Kirkus Book Review
There's a party tonight at the old oak tree, and one, two, three, four, five dancing owls bathe, put on special shoes and hats, collect their instruments and climb up to join the fun.Mixed-media illustrations feature cartoon owls with a variety of clothing and accessories. Extending across each double-page spread, they show each bird preparing and then joining the group. Appropriate numbers appear as the group enlarges. Drawn on natural brown paper with colored pencils and painted with gouache in trendy colors, some images show the owls' cozy homes, and some feature a background of an evening sky fading from pink to purple to deep blue. On the last spread, the numbered owls are framed by lights as if on stage. Each of the rap-beat couplets that count off the owls is introduced with a separate explanatory line that stops the flow: "A party's not a party without a happy tune. / 3 cool owls have got the beat. / Now they're ready to hit the street." Adults who try to read the book aloud may find it hard going, although the repetition of the "Hootenanny, hootenanny" chorus between each segment will invite listeners to chant along. This jazzy offering doesn't quite fit its audience. Even if familiar with folk festivals, children just old enough to begin to associate numbers with objects will find that easier to do without these elaborate extra details.Give this party a miss. (Picture book. 3-5) ]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
