Pants for Chuck

July 1, 2014
A beginning reader with a silly story that may or may not hold up to interrogation about anthropomorphic animals and story logic.Big Chuck is a woodchuck who enjoys playing with other backyard animals such as a chipmunk, mice, a rabbit, a raccoon and a chickadee. They play, running and climbing about until Chuck spies a rag doll on the ground and inspects its clothing. He decides he wants the doll's pants for himself and tries to squeeze into them. The others are obviously correct when they tell him that he is too big and the pants are too small, but Chuck ignores their protests and tries to run and climb about, just as before. Humorous watercolors capture the physical comedy of the scenes, and he remains determined to wear the pants until his girth makes them burst at the seams, with text reading "Pop! Rip!" Depending on readers' suspension of disbelief, it's either funny or confusing that on the next page Chuck covers his backside in embarrassment as the other animals look away. None of them is wearing clothing, and he was likewise Chuck-naked before donning the pants, so the internal logic of the story seems a bit off.Ultimately, since Chuck ends up smartly eschewing the pants at book's end, the title even ends up seeming like a misnomer. (Early reader. 5-7)

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August 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 1-In this hilarious book, a sassy woodchuck experiences the pitfalls of trying on pants that are too tight. Big Chuck's friends-a raccoon, a rabbit, a squirrel, and some mice-want him to play, run, and climb around the farm with them, but when he tries to squeeze into some blue pants that originally belonged to a doll, he finds that he can't join the fun because the pants are too small. The mice try to lend a helping hand (and Rabbit appears to disapprove as Chuck admires himself in the mirror), but everyone ducks for cover as the button eventually pops off, ripping the pants. Chuck realizes he'd rather play with his friends than wear the pants, which are then returned to the doll. The short, simple sentences in a large, clear font are ideal for emergent readers. The soft watercolor illustrations provide context clues to advance the story, and ample white space allows readers to focus on the words and action. The whimsical yet dynamic styling of the familiar farm animals and the silly premise and turn of events make this a fun choice for independent or shared reading.-Whitney LeBlanc, Staten Island Academy, NY

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