Halfway wild

A tight-knit family shifts into a variety of human-animal hybrids as they spend a day together. One of the children narrates, explaining that her family is "never the same from one day to the next." When they "start to buzz and tumble" at daybreak, "we're a family of bumblebees," writes debut author Freudig. And when the siblings and their grandmother splash around in a puddle, "we're a family of ducks," all three gaining webbed feet and long, feathery wings. Barry's (Schnitzel) caricatured aesthetic fits the unusual goings-on, even if the results aren't always appealing in a traditional sense (during the family's antlike walk to the beach, Dad uses his bulging insect abdomen to balance a beach ball, umbrella, and other supplies). Additionally, the logic to the transformations can be fuzzy: while it makes sense that the family would become seals while playing in the sea or skunks when baths are overdue, it's less clear what gulping down water after a spicy meal has to do with foxes or why getting paint-spattered during an art project would invoke (mostly black-and-white) puffins. Ages 3-7. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr 2-Freudig's debut picture book compares humans to wild animals. As a family of five go about their day, they morph into insects, birds, and forest mammals. The brother and sister look like bumblebees when they wake up because they fly out of their bunk beds with translucent wings. During breakfast, they use their moose antlers to help each other reach the cereal above the fridge. After some painting and TV, they go outside with their grandma and splash in the puddles with their webbed duck feet. On the beach, they are ants carrying a lot of things in their arms and on their backs, and seals swimming gracefully in the water. Bedtime routines involve comparisons to thirsty foxes, playful fireflies, and imaginary dragons. Barry turns the characters into animals by adding cute extremities such as ears, wings, tails, and feet. VERDICT This fun read-aloud about a loving family encourages children to mimic the animal behaviors depicted.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, Alta. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.