Review - Little Hoot

Little Hoot (Little Books)
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
illustrated by Jen Corace
Date: 2007
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon.ca

It's not fair! All Little Owl wants is to go to bed at a reasonable hour, like his friends do. But no... Mama and Papa say little owls have to stay up late and play. So Little Owl spends all night jumping on his bed, playing on the jungle gym, and doing tricks on his skateboard but he's hooting mad about it! Children who have a hard time going to bed will love this fun twist on the universal dilemma.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This was surprisingly disappointing. I've read the other two books in the series (Little Pea and Little Oink) and thought they were really cute. I can usually turn to Amy Krouse Rosenthal's books for some solid writing and storytelling. For some reason, though, this book was riddled with nonsensical dialogue tags and extra letters and punctuation that come across as way too casual for a published book. (Yes, I know we're dealing with an owl. He hoots. I get it. But I don't get the need for fourteen exclamation points on the end of one sentence.)

The illustrations are cute (I like Little Hoot's hooded sweatshirt) but they're not quite as engaging as those in Little Oink. And the story seemed like it was over so quickly in this one. Little Hoot's parents say he has to stay up for one more hour and play before he's allowed to go to bed. So the young owl occupies himself for the required number of minutes and then goes to bed. I get the schtick... but it doesn't seem to work as well here as it did in the other books.

Overall, I'd probably only recommend this if it were given with the other two books. As part of a set, it works. On its own, it's a little weak.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5

Review - Little Oink

Little Oink (Little Books)
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
illustrated by Jen Corace
Date: 2009
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 36
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon.ca

Little Oink is a neat little fellow. Clean, clean, clean, that's all he wants to do. But Mama and Papa won't have it! They say in order to be a proper pig he has to learn to make a proper mess. What's a little pig to do?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is a story about a tidy little pig who balks at his parents' orders to make a mess. He just wants to be neat like all his non-pig friends!

Little Oink is in the same vein as Little Pea, except that instead of a vegetable who won't eat his sweets, we have a pig who won't make a mess. These books are cute in that they turn the expected on its head. Kids (and parents) are likely to get a giggle out of the absurdity of the situations.

There's really not a lot of plot, but the premise is delightful. There's apparently another book in the series called Little Hoot that deals with an owl who doesn't want to stay up late, which I definitely want to read now. I'll have to see if I can get my hands on a copy.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.67 out of 5

Review - Telephone

Telephone
by Mac Barnett
illustrated by Jen Corace
Date: 2014
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

It's time to fly home for dinner! In this witty picture book from award-winning and bestselling author Mac Barnett, a mother bird gives the bird next to her a message for little Peter. But passing messages on a telephone line isn't as simple as it sounds. Each subsequent bird understands Mama's message according to its own very particular hobbies. Will Peter ever get home for dinner? This uproarious interpretation of a favorite children's game will get everyone giggling and is sure to lead to countless rereads.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This book is a funny depiction of the classic game of Telephone, with a bunch of wacky birds doing their best to pass on their message. The birds are anthropomorphized and have hobbies, so each time the message is passed along, it changes in a way particular to the messenger. It's a cute idea, made even better by the adorable illustrations. How can you not smile at a little blue jay rocking out on his electric guitar?

How will Peter ever get the correct message after it's passed through the minds and mouths of so many silly birds? The answer is quite simple (but clever); I'll let you discover it for yourself.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 4 out of 5

Review - Little Pea

Little Pea (Little Books)
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
illustrated by Jen Corace
Date: 2005
Publisher: Chronicle Books (CA)
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 36
Format: e-book
Source: library

If Little Pea doesn't eat all of his sweets, there will be no vegetables for dessert! What's a young pea to do? Children who have trouble swallowing their veggies will love the way this pea-size picture book serves up a playful story they can relate to.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is a cute little story that might appeal to picky eaters. Little Pea is... well, a pea. He lives with Papa Pea and Mama Pea and does fun stuff like getting flung off the end of cutlery by his father. But the one thing he doesn't like doing? Eating his dinner. All he wants is dessert, but he has to eat all of his dinner first. And for a pea, dinner is... candy.

The illustrations are simple but charming, and the illustrator managed to give personalities to a family of vegetables. My main complaint with this book (and it's really nothing to do with the book itself) is the e-book formatting. The text was one step ahead of the pictures throughout, which I found confusing until I figured out what was going on. So, if you're going to read this one, I'd suggest sticking with the physical version.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.67 out of 5