Lots More Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing.

January 1, 2018

POPPreS-Gr 2-This funny follow-up to Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing presents readers with a new selection of animals who should never, ever wear clothing. They would simply be faced with too many problems! After all, clothing would hamper a horse, fluster a flamingo, be unbearable for a bear, and is unnecessary because a penguin is already dressed. Most of all, it would be absurd for an armadillo. The best-selling author/illustrator duo of the award-winning "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" series have crated another winner. Ron Barrett's humorous illustrations of animals struggling while wearing clothing paired with Judi Barrett's big, bold text create the perfect combination and convincingly prove their point. Alliteration and plays on words make the pages with text just as laughable as the corresponding art. VERDICT This is a light and enjoyable picture book with the takeaway that animals are better off just the way they are-without clothing! Recommended for fans of the first book and anyone who likes to laugh.-Elizabeth Blake, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2018
Judi and Ron Barrett come up with more reasons why animals are best au naturel. As in its classic predecessor, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, the book begins with that titular phrase in black text on a white page, each subsequent page beginning with "because" and supplying a single reason why a particular animal is unsuited to wearing clothing. Sneakers with untied laces and slouchy socks would "hamper a horse." A frog "might jump out of it"--and looks quite chagrined to find itself suddenly unclothed. "It would be foolish for a fish" to wear a raincoat and carry an umbrella underwater. Laugh-out-loud moments include the caterpillar overwhelmed by the tide of socks coming out of the dryer and the leashed pet armadillo whose armor matches the knight walking it. Other featured animals include a spider, a bear, an elk, a crab, a turtle, a penguin, a skunk, a flamingo, and a hyena. On every spread, the animal is placed against a white background. Across the gutter, black text is alternately placed against coral, pea green, yellow, or white backgrounds. Ron Barrett's pen, ink, and digital crosshatch-shaded animals look quite realistic--aside from their clothing and the expressions on their faces.Good for a chuckle and an excellent extension opportunity for classrooms. (Picture book. 3-8)

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March 12, 2018
This husband-and-wife team follow up their classic picture book Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing (1970) and its sequel, Animals Should Definitely Not Act like People (1980), with a look at more animals dressed hilariously in human attire. But, as with the other titles, looking silly isn’t the reason why a horse, frog, bear, spider, and others ought not to get dressed. Instead, it’s “because a crab would tear it up” (the crab is pictured ripping apart its plaid shirt with its claws) and “because an elk would have too many choices.” The elk, rendered in Barrett’s distinctive pen-and-ink art, wears anxiety on its face while peering up at the many hats perched on its antlers. A skunk really shouldn’t wear a plaid skirt because it “could make it stinky,” while a turtle “has a turtleneck of its own.” The formula—a finger-wagging narrator up against ludicrous circumstances—is familiar but no less delightful in this companion title. Ages 4–8.