Review by Booklist Review
Five disparate friends--an anteater, mandrill, badger, owl, and turtle--decide that they need an activity. But not just any old activity! It needs to be terrific. Perhaps an invigorating climb, as Anteater suggests? Some of the animals enjoy it, but a few of them can't manage. Turtle wonders if they would all enjoy a swim instead, but Owl isn't thrilled about soaked feathers. A snake eventually slithers up to the brainstorming group and speculates that they might enjoy squeezing things in their coils. That odd suggestion is vetoed, since none of the other animals have coils, and despite their humorous efforts, the group can't seem to agree on any mutually appealing activity until an increasingly threatening Snake announces that he enjoys eating and moves to swallow the frightened animals whole! Resourceful Owl takes the suggestion literally, quickly and cleverly devouring the sinister reptile. The rest of the relieved animals gather their own snacks and agree, at last, that this is something they can all enjoy. Gilmore's (Little Doctor and the Fearless Beast, 2019) unusual story is playfully dark and very funny, with stylized illustrations, rendered in watercolor and pens, fabulously detailed and expressive. The net result is a book that is silly and scary and--you guessed it--absolutely terrific.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Five animal friends seek an activity they'll all enjoy, but it's a challenge. "Swimming is terrific," promises Turtle. "The water is cool and inviting, and you can push your way through reeds." Ant-eater, Mandrill, and Turtle dive enthusiastically, but Badger and Owl clutch each other in dismay. Gilmore (Freda and the Blue Beetle) combines sinuous animal contours and sandy tints into cool, graceful spreads that belie the drama to come. As the group tries various activities, Snake appears: "I think that squeezing things tightly in my coils is terrific." The other animals demur ("Thank you, Snake... but we have no coils. Join us"), but Snake continues to terrorize. Tension builds; Snake's menace smolders ("It's terrific to swallow an animal whole"). What is to be done? When the reptile finally attacks, Owl makes a decision that the whole group can appreciate, resulting in a spread that pictures the five Snake-free friends, relaxed and newly carefree. Though the conclusion echoes other dine-and-dash picture book endings, this one doesn't get its laughs from guilty complicity. Instead, the heroic group, having triumphed over danger, shares a proud, Three Musketeers--like air, bringing relieved readers into their number in a story that's not for the faint of heart. Ages 4--8. Agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary. (July)
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Review by Horn Book Review
Five friends -- Turtle, Anteater, Badger, Mandrill, and Owl -- try to decide on a "terrific" activity to do together. Each suggests something that they enjoy themselves but that, when tried by the whole group, is not a success. Digging works for Badger, but not for Owl. Hanging from toes upside-down works for Mandrill -- "your hands are free to comb your fur" -- but not Anteater. Interloper Snake offers suggestions, but young readers will recognize them as the red flags they are -- "I think squeezing things tightly in my coils is terrific." When the friends collapse in a heap, tired from their efforts to find a common pastime, Snake declares that "eating together is terrific" and proceeds to entwine them in his coils. Luckily, Owl rescues herself and the others by beating her wings. In the final spread the friends are feasting on a variety of fruits, vegetables, and fish, agreeing that eating together is indeed "TERRIFIC!" Did Owl, pictured with a smug smile and swollen belly as she preens a wing feather, eat the snake? It is up to readers to decide. The story is paced particularly well. As each animal suggests an activity, their figure fills the left-hand page of a spread, getting a turn in the spotlight. Lush, detailed illustrations, done in watercolor and pen and ink in a muted palette of greens, browns, and grays, invite readers close to the page to focus on each character's facial expressions and body language. Maeve Visser Knoth September/October 2021 p.65(c) Copyright 2021. 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
Five friends--Turtle, Badger, Anteater, Mandrill, and Owl--want to do something together. They want to do something "terrific," as Turtle suggests, but finding an activity they can all enjoy is not easy. They earnestly consider various pursuits--climbing termite mounds, hanging by toes, digging, swimming through reeds, flying--each a pleasure for at least one but not for all. Gilmore's palette, filled with greens and browns, is subdued and light, and the faces and bodies of her characters fill the page in a way that is lively and disarming. The disparate group is wonderful to look at, with its variety of shapes and colors of fur, feathers, or shell. The mandrill adds both color and gravitas to this elegant assemblage of sub-Saharan animals. The individual eyes and faces are expressive, personable, and somehow hilarious without being caricatured. When Snake comes along, the rock python has its own idea about togetherness, and it's not a particularly appealing one. "It's terrific to swallow an animal whole," Snake whispers, conveying something shiveringly creepy along with the truth that some activities need not be considered at all. Still, the group of five is reminded in that moment, perhaps inadvertently, that eating together is something friends can enjoy (as long as they are not eating one another). Owl's round belly hints that Snake contributed in some way to the feast. Pretty terrific, indeed, and visually marvelous. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
