Fraidyzoo

Starred review from October 7, 2013
Debut talent Heder comes up with a wildly imaginative idea for an alphabet book/animal guessing game, elaborates it with smartly drafted ink-and-watercolor spreads, and seasons it with plenty of family warmth and hullaballoo. Little T’s mother, father, and older sister discover that she’s reluctant to go the zoo, and they throw themselves into figuring out which animal she’s frightened of. Adorning themselves with common household objects, they go right through the alphabet. “Can it give itself showers?” her hyper older sister asks, with two plastic bags on her ears and her arm held up like an elephant’s trunk for E. “Maybe it’s pink?” asks her father, skipping across the room in a pink tutu and pink Post-its stuck to his fingers, a fetching flamingo F. The picture of a family working together to cheer up its tiniest member, the identifiable elements of all the costumes, and the unexpected creature that Little T actually fears (a middle-aged ticket taker with menacing fingernails) all ring true—and readers will come away with some fine animal costume ideas, too. Ages 4–8. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House.

Starred review from September 15, 2013
What kid is afraid of going to the zoo? Little T, that's who. To find out exactly which animal Little T is so afraid of, her parents and older sister strike poses with household props and act out the unnamed, alphabetic animals A to Z. Little T laughs and giggles at their mimicking antics, saying "No" to each of the monkeyshines. Of course she winds up joining in the fun, and the family makes it to the zoo. The surprise ending is a hoot and will have readers laughing out loud. The witty watercolor-and-ink illustrations invent humorous clues: Dad mimes "alligator" with his arms; big sister decorates an umbrella with bubble wrap and pink streamers to make a "jellyfish." Nuanced details add whimsy, such as a black-and-white cat that meanders in and out of the scenes. Though the animals are never labeled in the story, the rear endpapers present pictures of each creature pinned to a bulletin board. Q stands for Quetzal; N for Narwhal; U for Unicorn; X and Y for Xantis Yak; V for Vampire Bat. WARNING: Expect riotous buffoonery after reading this clever and original alphabet story, as kids will definitely want to "parrot" the examples. (Picture book. 4-8)

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October 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 2-The cut-and-paste, handmade look and feel of this picture book underscores its thematic ode to creative problem solving. Little T is about to embark on a much-anticipated trip to the zoo with her family when she freezes up with fear. Her parents call time-out and undertake a laugh-out-loud, over-the-top attempt to pinpoint exactly which animal she seems to be afraid of. Utilizing household objects, recyclables, clothing, and everyday art materials, Mom, Dad, and sister construct a madcap, A-to-Z range of costumes to determine which creature could possibly be thwarting T's desire to go to the zoo. "Does it jump in the road?" asks Mom, holding V-shaped tongs to her head simulating deer's antlers; "Does it live in the tropics?" asks Dad, crawling around the floor in an iguana costume constructed with cardboard tubes and paper bags. And so on until nightfall, when T declares her fears banished and now wants to go to the zoo. (Who wouldn't, after all those entertaining theatrics?) But when they arrive the next day, an encounter with a certain zoo employee sends T's sister into a panic, an ironic twist to T's resolution of her own fears. The charming, detailed watercolor and ink illustrations really tell the story, and children will relish poring over them to guess the animal costumes and identify their construction materials. Pair this with titles such as Antoinette Portis's Not a Box (2006) and Not a Stick (2007, both HarperCollins) to jump-start kids' own creative juices.-Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2013
Grades K-2 A big sister is going bonkers because it's a perfect day to go to the zoo, but her younger sister, Little T, is afraid. Afraid of what? She can't quite remember, but it's at the zoo. Mom, Dad, and the big sister launch a campaign to jog Little T's memory with some extremely inventive props. A giant jellyfish made of an umbrella and streamers jiggles overhead. A cardboard rhinoceros charges. A snake with a vacuum-powered hiss slithers up. None of the animals manage to scare Little T, who thus determines that a trip to the zoo might not be so bad. Once they arrive, however, a scary surprise awaits, but this time it's Little T's big sister running away. That's OK, though, because there's a zoo's worth of handcrafted fun waiting at home. Heder tells a child-relevant story about facing your fears with a light hand and zippy prose, but it's her art that dials the zippiness up to 11, as her warm and humorously realistic figures gallivant alongside some remarkably envisioned handcrafted animal puppets.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)