Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a story inspired by Mark Twain's "A Fable," which is reprinted at the end of the book, a dog peers into a hole in a wall and spies another dog. (Unlike the dog, readers will instantly recognize that the hole is actually a mirror.) The dog tells his friends-a warthog, lion, and elephant-about what he has seen, prompting the animals to check out the hole for themselves. Wilhelm (Look Who's Peeking!) creates a pattern that invites children to chime in as the animals report their findings: "The dog is wrong. I saw a warthog," says the warthog. When these conflicting discoveries cause a rift ("The friends were mad"), the animals stomp off together to visit the hole and, in viewing all of their reflections, "Everyone was happy because everyone was right!" The language may be simple, but Wilhelm's loosely outlined cartoon animals never lack for emotions, their exaggerated facial expressions highlighting their curiosity, skepticism, anger, and eventual delight. It's an amusing addition to the bookshelf of stories that let children feel smarter than the characters they are reading about. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-When four animals take turns peeking inside a hole, they see animals that look like them. The African dog tells the others, "I saw a hole with a dog." The dialogue is repetitive as each animal declares that the speaker is wrong. Certain of what they saw, the friends allow their tempers to flare, and they stop talking. After a short silence, they march over to the hole to find out who is telling the truth. When all four see themselves, they all smile. Wilhelm's last spread pans back so the reader can see the hole from every side. It's here we see the hole is really a mirror being held up by a nail in the wall. The story that inspired this book ("A Fable" by Mark Twain) is included on the last three pages of the book. Older children may understand the moral as told by the cat. VERDICT A fun story about self-perception, truth, and imagination; a great choice to act out with stuffed animals and a mirror.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada © Copyright 2016. 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
Four round and rubbery cartoon African animalsa wild dog, a warthog, a lion, and an elephantfind what seems to be a hole in the wall. Round-eyed with excitement, each runs back to its fellows to report that the previous observer was wrong about what it observed. The dog finds the hole first: he sees a dog in it. The warthog sees a warthog, and so on. Alert children will catch on to this from the first image. (Spoiler alert: it's a mirror.) At the end, when all four buddies (only the elephant is tagged as female) realize they are all correct and view themselves together in the mirror, "Everyone was happy because everyone was right!" The type is large and bold and uses color to highlight various words; all the colors have a smooth and slick feel to them. The story is based on a Mark Twain fable, which is reproduced in all of its fustian glory in three pages of text at the end. The moral of that tale is actually somewhat different from Wilhelm's version and will prepare young readers for deconstructionist literary criticism in their later years, but the whole makes a fairly good read-aloud with very few words. A deceptively subtle thought-provoker for preschoolers. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
