Bob Not Bob!

Starred review from November 21, 2016
Scanlon and Vernick’s opening description of their young hero, Louie, creates instant intimacy: “Little Louie wasn’t all that little. It wasn’t like he needed his mom every minute of the day.” But after Louie gets a terrible cold, his calls for “Mom” come out sounding like “Bob” (the family dog), and the big, lolloping hound “came running. And slobbering.” Cordell (The Knowing Book) is wonderful at capturing the chaos of the sickroom: Bob drooling on the bed, tissue that didn’t make it into the wastebasket, overturned baskets of laundry. Scanlon (In the Canyon) and Vernick (Unlike Other Monsters) understand the way that being sick makes kids need comfort that they don’t usually need, how it makes them unrecognizable even to themselves, and the comfort a mother’s presence brings. Every page offers a giggle: “His lips chapped and his eyes gunked. As for his nose, you can’t even imagine.” With its funny, congested language (“I doan wan by bedicine”) and problems every reader will understand this is read-aloud gold. Ages 3–5. Authors’ agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

January 15, 2017
When you're sick and stuffy, some letters--like T's and L's and M's--disappear.Little Louie, a young--well, "it wasn't like he needed his mom every minute of the day"--black kid, has caught a cold. A nasty cold: ears crackled, brain full of sog, nose dripping enough mucus to launch a ship. And when you get a nasty cold, well, "maybe his mom should check on him kind of often." The cry goes out: "BOB!" Now, as it happens, the house pooch, an ever faithful Great Dane, is named Bob. So, Bob comes running. Little Louie tries again: "I wan by BOB, not BOB!" (Sharp-eyed youngsters will note that one "Bob" has a heart in the middle of the O, and one does not.) Soon enough, kids will figure it out: it's a case of the stuffed-nose, missing M. Scanlon and Vernick's text is sweet without treacle, and it gives Little Louie's long-suffering couple of sick days a good ride. Cordell's artwork is terrific. The pages have action without clutter, and Louie has a little chicken-necked balloon head with brown skin, feverish red cheeks, and the most splendid mauve pajamas. For a book that really comes down to a sick kid yelping for his mother, his nose so clogged it needs dynamite to clear, the story has a lot of adorable acreage. (Picture book. 3-5)

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March 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-Little Louie has a bad cold. His nose is clogged. His brain is fuzzy. In a sudden urge to abandon self-sufficiency, he yells for his mom-but congestion makes it sound like he's asking for "Bob," which is coincidentally the name of his dog. Instead of a warm, comforting parent, Louie gets his drooly, high-strung dalmatian. This is the central joke of the book. (For the former Bob, the "o" is stylized to look like a heart, while for the latter, it simply looks like an "o.") Readers are told that the text should "be read as though you have the worst cold ever." The story is child-centric if a bit unfocused and is in keeping with busy families and the havoc caused by ailing children. Cordell's Jules Feiffer-esque illustrations are entertaining, even though the unvaried white background could use more pep. VERDICT Wheezy, sneezy kids are likely to enjoy hearing about someone who's as sick as they are and to giggle at the ongoing confusion. A competent but one-note addition.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

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