Beep and Bah

January 9, 2012
When Beep, a sunny robot, spots phlegmatic goat Bah with a single sock in his mouth, he embarks on a quest to find its mate. “Do you smell that, Bah?” says Beep self-importantly as they set off. “That, my friend, is the smell of adventure. Or it could be this sock.” With Bah as his Sancho Panza, Beep travels over hill and dale, through a quicksand pit, and even into the deep-sea lair of a giant squid in search of the sock’s owner, interviewing animals (and a rock) he meets along the way—a pig is essentially a ham-colored rectangle, and a chicken gets nailed by a meteor after squawking that the sky is falling. Burks (Gabby and Gator) has worked for Nickelodeon and Disney, and their influence is clear in this sweetly silly quest: it’s manic, irreverent, and self-referential through and through. Beep’s relentless belief in his own heroism (which makes his indefatigable running commentary great fun to read aloud), combined with the comics-style framings and geeky-goofy supporting cast, should keep this story in heavy rotation. Ages 5–9. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

March 1, 2012

K-Gr 2-When Bah, a goat who only says "bah!," arrives at his robot friend Beep's with a lone athletic sock in his mouth, Beep declares it their mission to find its match. The talkative robot leads the way from pig to chicken to bear to monkey to fish and many other animals, but none of them owns the matching sock. Beep and Bah go from hillside to farmland to woods to sea and several whimsical places in between until they reach the end of the road-literally. As they turn around, the matching sock is clearly visible stuck to Bah's other side and completely unnoticed by the characters. Burks's animator roots are clearly evident in his comic-book-style illustrations. The text is solely in dialogue, most of it boxed in circles, squares, and rectangles, and there are often several panels per page. Their size and placement are fluid and reader-friendly. The story is awash in fanciful colors, quirky backdrops, kid humor (Nickelodeon style), wonderful expressions, and plenty of action. Sure to have kids clamoring for more.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.