Herman and Rosie

Starred review from August 5, 2013
While the title makes it sound like they’re a couple, Australian author/illustrator Gordon’s crocodile hero and deerlike heroine remain unknown to one another until the penultimate spread, even though they live in adjacent buildings and have important things in common: a love of music (oboe for him, jazz singing for her) and “watching films about the ocean.” But that’s life in the big city—New York City, in particular, which Gordon brings alive through lyrical drawings and inventive collage. His soul-mate characters are equally terrific: two sweet but lonely souls (think Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine—or maybe it’s Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan) who live in tiny apartments and eke out a living while keeping their wistful chins up. If it sounds too sophisticated for the target audience, rest assured it isn’t (although some may grow anxious when both characters lose their jobs). Readers of all ages will fall for Herman and Rosie from the start, and Gordon knows how to keep the dramatic and romantic tension just taut enough to keep the pages turning toward their inevitable meeting. Ages 7–10.

August 15, 2013
In bustling New York, anthropomorphic croc Herman and Rosie (a goat?) inhabit parallel lives until they discover they're soul mates. They live in tiny apartments in adjacent buildings. Herman plays oboe and sells "things" in a call center--until he's canned for not selling enough of them. Rosie's a restaurant dishwasher who takes singing lessons and gigs at a jazz club on Thursdays--until it's shuttered. In pictures and text, Gordon cleverly foretells the pair's entwined destiny, engaging readers conspiratorially as Herman and Rosie continually almost connect. Each, hearing the other's music by chance, is mesmerized for days. Both love "watching films about the ocean" and turn to Cousteau documentaries for solace after their twin career setbacks. Traipsing the city (Gordon provides a map and key for their concurrent rambles), they simultaneously buy hot dogs from the same vendor--without meeting. Finally, Rosie hears "the familiar sounds of a groovy little jazz number" and leaps "to follow that tune." The penultimate double-page spread shows them meeting--at last!--on Herman's roof against a luminous full moon. The final page shows they've formed a quartet--The Cousteaus. Gordon utilizes vintage postcards, ledgers and maps to create collaged tableaux. Evocative of William Steig and Bernard Waber, the pictures at their best juxtapose New York's duality: its cacophonous enormity and charming intimacy. Sweetly celebrates artistic bonding in the Big Apple. (Picture book. 5-8)

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October 1, 2013

Gr 1-3-Herman Schubert loves to play the oboe and Rosie Bloom sings, but when they lose their jobs, "everything [falls] out of tune"-until they happen to meet. There is, of course, nothing wrong with a picture book in which the illustrations are best appreciated by adults who like vintage postcards, the inventive use of collage materials, and a plethora of visual gags. But when such artwork is coupled with a story about the genesis of friendship between two adult neighbors in New York City, one has to wonder to whom the effort is truly pitched. Merely portraying the major characters as an alligator and an antelope (or maybe she's a deer?) does not ensure child appeal. A working knowledge of the lives of office workers and jazz singers in New York might provide an entree for some children, but that's still a fairly narrow subset of potential readers.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2013
Preschool-G *Starred Review* There are so many great New York love stories, and here's another. Herman, who just happens to be a crocodile, is an oboe player (the instrument fits nicely under his enormous teeth). He lives in a tiny apartment, loves boysenberry yogurt, and likes watching films about the ocean. Rosie, of the deer persuasion, enjoys toffee that sticks to your teeth, jazz singing, and also watching ocean-themed films. Never the twain shall meet, until Herman loses his job selling things, and Rosie's jazz club closes down due to poor attendance. When each comes out of a depression, Herman picks up the oboe, and Rosie finds herself drawn across rooftops towards its groovy tune. Soon the lonely city is lonely no more as they make sweet, sweet music together. This Australian picture book doesn't skimp on fantastic details: Rosie's club is called The Mangy Hound; Herman's call center is inhabited by boars, giraffes, and owls; and Grandma Herman's photo sits framed on the bureau. Gordon's heavily lined characters and collage backgrounds give rise to the vibrant Big Apple, populated by all species and anchored by two endearing artistic types. The illustrations include scenes depicted on postcards as the duo moves around the city, maps of their wanderings, and even a page comprised entirely of neon signs ( Dancing Hamsters ) that light up the night sky. Not since Petra Mathers' Sophie and Lou (1991) has a picture book, the arts, and romance converged so charmingly.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)