What Animals Really Like

August 29, 2011
After a title page announces “A New Song Composed & Conducted by Mr. Herbert Timberteeth,” an opening gatefold reveals a huge cast of animals on a proscenium stage, organized in prim little groups as if for a recital. And the song that follows, directed by Timberteeth (a beaver), would fit right in at an elementary school performance, as the animals sing about stereotypical “likes” (“We are lions, and we like to prowl./ We are wolves, and we like to howl”). But the proceedings (and the rhyme scheme) turn anarchic when the animals reveal their actual interests: after the pigeons sing that they like to “coo,” the cows reveal that they like to... dig. Owing both to the flummoxed metanarrative of Mo Willems’s Pigeon books and to the gleeful non sequiturs of Mac Barnett and Adam Rex’s Guess Again! Robinson’s (The 3-2-3 Detective Agency) story will keep children giggling at the beaver’s frustrated reactions and the animals’ unpredictable preferences—such as shrimp that ski (“e just got our photos back. Here we are in Switzerland”) and monkeys that enjoy all-you-can-eat buffets. Encore! Ages 4–8.

Starred review from September 1, 2011

World-famous conductor Herbert Timberteeth (an aptly named beaver) is about to debut his new song, "What Animals Like Most."

The curtain parts with a horizontal gatefold to reveal all of the performers stretched out on stage. The lions begin the show. They unenthusiastically sing, "We are lions, and we like to prowl." Reluctant wolves chime in with "We are wolves, and we like to howl." The pigeons predictably follow suit. "We are pigeons, and we like to coo." But the cows, with mischievous grins, sing, "We are cows, and we like to ... / ... dig," gleefully whipping out spades and shovels to emphasize their point. Dig?! A stern glare from Timberteeth stops the shenanigans, and the song continues. But soon other animals start changing the lyrics too. Do kangaroos really like to hop around? No, they much prefer Ping-Pong. Do worms like to wiggle? No, they like to bowl! Timberteeth throws his baton down in disgust. These darn animals are ruining the show. Or maybe they are just tired of being misunderstood! Robinson's pen-and-ink illustrations pack plenty of visual wit, too. A shrimp (who likes to ski) has multiple broken legs, and by the end, the monkeys (who like buffets) are snoozing off food comas.

Guffaws and surprising twists (plus Timbertooth's exaggerated tantrums) will have youngsters clamoring for a repeat performance. Brava! (Picture book. 4-8)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2011

September 15, 2011
Preschool-G Stories that show an authority figures stymied by those they're supposed to be in charge of provide kids, so often powerless, with vicarious satisfaction and hilarity. Here, a straitlaced conductor, Mr. Timberteeth, wishes to put on a performance in which each animal sings about what it likes. But some of the creatures don't cooperate: the shrimp say they like to ski, the kangaroos would rather play ping-pong than hop, and so on. Timberteeth is puzzled at first, then annoyed, and he finally gives up when a ping-pong ball bounces off his head. His increasingly irate facial expressions, suggesting he is personally insulted by his cast's insurrection, are especially funny. Creative design, featuring two gatefolds that serve as the stage curtain, literally sets the stage. Finely lined pen-and-ink drawings loosely evoke Edward Gorey's stagecraft and children's books, not to mention his sly sense of humor. The tables are turned at the show's close, when roses are tossed onstage to celebrate the conductor's achievement, and he confesses, But I don't like flowers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)