From
Bogey Bear
Many of us grew up having Dr. Seuss books read to us, and then reading
them ourselves, and finally reading them to children. They are
great books - fun pictures and crisp text, poetic rhymes that are fun to
read and fun to listen to. If you like Dr. Seuss books, you will
love "Wild About Books" which is written in his style as a tribute to
his work.
The pictures are not in the same style, but they are bright, colorful and fully-illustrate the story - zoo animals creating their own library, a zoobrary! Children will have a lot of fun picking out the funny details in the artwork.
About the Book
In this rollicking rhymed story, Molly introduces birds and beasts to
this new something called reading. She finds the perfect book for every
animal—tall books for giraffes, tiny ones for crickets. “She even found
waterproof books for the otter, who never went swimming without Harry
Potter.”
In no time at all, Molly has them “forsaking their niches, their nests, and their nooks,” going “wild, simply wild, about wonderful books.” Judy Sierra’s funny animal tale coupled with Marc Brown’s lush, fanciful paintings will have the same effect on young Homo sapiens. Altogether, it’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 2. In this rollicking story, librarian Molly McGrew
accidentally drives her bookmobile into the zoo, and then the fun
begins! The animals draw close to listen to a Dr. Seuss story, and soon
they begin stampeding "to learn all about this new something called
reading." Many picture-book authors who try their hands at rhyme have
less-than-stellar results. Here, the best part of the book is Sierra's
handy way with a rhyming text that not only scans properly but also is
both clever and full of images that will amuse children ("Tasmanian
devils found books so exciting / That soon they had given up fighting
for writing").
The wild animal goings-on offer illustrator Brown an opportunity to get away from his vaguely aardvarklike Arthur and create some real animals--in fact, about every animal one can think of. All the slaphappy art fits nicely into double-page spreads that allow the energetic action room to breathe. That's good because there are tons of things to look at, all in sunny colors. Not only are the animals reading books but they are also hugging them, licking the pictures off the pages, and trying their "hands" at writing. A wonderful advertisement for the joys of a literary life.
Ilene Cooper Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
From Child Care
This book is perfect for primary school libraries and all librarians,
whether in school or not... A joy of a book and a worthy addition to any
primary school library. School Librarian A compelling volume for
encouraging both literacy in its widest sense, and books and libraries
in particular. Ibby Link This ingenious book, with Judy Sierra's lively
rhyming text, makes reading look fun - always a good thing.
Marc Brown's bright cheerful pictures are full of little gems. Carousel A clever librarian quickly attracts a crowd when she launches the mobile library by reading aloud from Dr Seuss. 'In a flash, every beast in the zoo was stampeding / To learn all about this new something called reading.' There are fat books and thin books, funny books and sad books -- something for everyone.
Soon, all the animals are not only reading but writing too. An entertaining and inspiring introduction to books. Book Ahead 0-7 This beautifully illustrated paperback uses some highly imaginative and amusing rhyming text to tell the story of a mobile library which visits the zoo by mistake and soon instills the reading (and writing) bug in all the animals! This story certainly reinforces the message that there are books to suit all tastes and that everyone will find something they love when they step into a library. Child Care
From the Inside Flap
It started the summer of 2002, when the Springfield librarian, Molly
McGrew, by mistake drove her bookmobile into the zoo.
In this rollicking rhymed story, Molly introduces birds and beasts to
this new something called reading. She finds the perfect book for every
animal—tall books for giraffes, tiny ones for crickets.
"She even found waterproof books for the otter, who never went swimming without Harry Potter." In no time at all, Molly has them "forsaking their niches, their nests, and their nooks," going "wild, simply wild, about wonderful books."
Judy Sierra's funny animal tale coupled with Marc Brown's lush, fanciful paintings will have the same effect on young Homo sapiens. Altogether, it's more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
About the Author
Judy Sierra is the author of many critically acclaimed children’s books,
including the bestselling collection of funny poems, Antarctic Antics;
Silly & Sillier; and Tasty Baby Belly Buttons. She lives in Castro
Valley, CA.
About the Illustrator
Marc Brown is best known as the creator of Arthur the aardvark, but you
will find no aardvarks or animals wearing glasses in this book. Drawing
upon his classical training at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Marc
Brown’s colorful paintings for Wild About Books reflect the naïve spirit
of folk art at its best. “Judy Sierra’s story gave me the opportunity to
indulge myself in painting,” said Mr. Brown, adding that this is the
book of which he is most proud. He lives in Hingham and Martha’s
Vineyard, MA.