Review by New York Times Review
GRACE FOR GUS By Harry Bliss. Illustrated by Harry Bliss and Frank Young In this wordless graphic novel-style picture book, Grace's class wants a new hamster. She sneaks out to raise money by busking, drawing and dancing. Bliss, a New Yorker cartoonist, piles on funny Manhattan details kids may miss, but they'll love Grace's spunky quest to make a difference on her own.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [March 25, 2018]
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Bursting with energy and stuffed to the brim with animals from across the globe, this latest from Caldecott Honor Book creator Wenzel (They All Saw a Cat, 2016) is more than an average bestiary. In simple, rhyming text that's suited both to emerging readers and storytime read-alouds, Wenzel displays a colorful (and, for that matter, not colorful, too) array of animals big and small, ordinary and strange, from the land and from the sea. The vibrantly illustrated animals, all sporting Wenzel's trademark adorably bugged eyes, pop against a white background as they greet one another: Hello Hello / Black and White / Hello Color / Hello Bright. There are certainly some recognizable critters here (lions, tigers, and bears all claim page space, as do two young, diverse humans themselves), but plenty of others are more unusual (narwhals, tamarins, echidnas). Others still may be entirely new for young readers (mud puppies, an aardwolf, kiwis). For the curious, a final four-page spread identifies each creature by their silhouette. In an author's note, Wenzel gently touches on conservation, explaining that each animal is a vital part of an ecosystem, and that many shown here are threatened or endangered. The first step to saving these animals, he says, is learning about them, and this vivacious, utterly appealing early STEM offering will surely inspire young readers to do just that.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Wenzel starts with two cats and a greeting: "Hello Hello." They eye each other across a white backdrop. A page turn reveals a black bear, panda, zebra, and striped fish: "Black and White." The next page provides a blast of color: more tropical fish, a brilliant parrot, a fuchsia lobster-and completes the rhyme ("Hello Color Hello Bright"). More creatures and greetings bring the story into focus-it's a celebration of the myriad forms of animal life this planet hosts. In richly textured mixed-media compositions, Caldecott Honor recipient Wenzel (They All Saw a Cat) balances realism and engaging caricature. The animals' coats and features are rendered with careful attention, and each animal face sports cartoonish, wide-open eyes, the better to give each other impish looks. In an author's note, Wenzel urges readers to know the creatures they share the Earth with, especially those that are threatened or endangered. (Official names are supplied in two keyed drawings at the back.) It's a joyful way to deliver a message about the fragility of life on Earth and what would be lost if more of it disappeared. Ages 3-5. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Beginning with some modest black-and-white critters and the titular greeting, Wenzel introduces a dazzling variety of animals grouped in unexpected ways by pattern ("Hello Stripes Hello Spots"), anatomical features ("Hello Tongue, Ears, Hands, and Nose"), sounds (Hello Roars, Peeps, Chirps, and Chants") and many other criteria, each description a part of a rhyming poem spread out across the book. Set against ample white backgrounds, Wenzel's mixed media illustrations pop with astounding textures and colors, somewhat reminiscent of Steve Jenkins's work, but considerably more caricature in style with googly eyes and exaggerated shapes. The dizzying parade culminates in a spread of all of the animals together, "A world to see A world to know Where to begin? Hello Hello." A note from the author explains that these animals are some of the author's favorites but are tragically endangered; Wenzel urges readers to discover more about them to better the conservation efforts. An illustrated list of animals is helpfully included, listing the names of all pictured animals and their threatened status. VERDICT Deceptively simple but gorgeously realized, with a powerful statement about celebrating and protecting the Earth's fauna in all its diverse (yet interconnected) splendor.-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY © Copyright 2018. 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 this equally inventive follow-up to They All Saw a Cat (rev. 11/16), spare rhyming couplets invite viewers to say Hello to ninety-two animals from around the world: Hello Hello / Black and White / Hello Color / Hello Bright. The creatures, shown in Wenzels mixed-media illustrations of wide-eyed animals on crisp white pages, are conceptually organized (the Black and White spread includes a black cat, a black bear, a panda, and a zebra), with some being more abstract (the Hello Wonder / Hello WHOA! spread shows a few of the worlds more unusual animals). Seamlessly grouping so many disparate creatures by clear themes is a standalone achievement, but Wenzel also manages to link each animal to the previous and subsequent animal by an unstated physical attribute that does not necessarily relate to the text, creating a secondary thematic chain that viewers must independently decipher; and the last animal on each spread is the first animal on the next spread. For example, an African bush elephant is preceded by a walrus (visually connected by their tusks) and, after a page-turn, is followed by an African lion (visually linked by their bushy tails). This additional level of complexity, along with a conservation-minded authors note and a useful appended animal index (complete with each animals conservation status), makes for a satisfyingly complex and immersive experience. patrick gall (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Caldecott honoree (They All Saw a Cat, 2016) Wenzel's graphic love letter to all us earthlings is a hallelujah chorus to life in all its glorious shapes and forms. Each page is a visual testament to the Sesame Street axiom "different yet the same." The white cat leads off to the black, which then takes readers to the black bear, the black-and-white panda, the stripey zebra, and its finny eponymous cousin, the zebra fish. This natural progression opens readers' minds to the fact that we have more in common with one another than notbut for one alarming distinction. Between 200 and 2,000 species are going extinct each year. Wenzel immortalizes his favorite examples of our planet's exceptional inhabitants, including us, using a variety of artistic media and tools (cut paper, colored pencil, oils, pastels, markers, etc.) to amazing effect. Dynamic images cavorting, reclining, flying, or dancing across and around stark white pages snag both emotions and imaginations. The spare, rhyming text united by the bridging greeting of "Hello" places all creatures on the same interconnected playing field. In the backmatter, the author identifies all his stars on two double-page spreads in order of appearance and notes their status when applicable: vulnerable to critically endangered. Every one of Wenzel's beasties, from the "common" house cat to the mouth-dropping whale shark, exhibits an exuberant spark of life that will delight readers everywhereand hopefully encourage in them an awareness of their plights. (Picture book. 3-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
