Don't Eat That

April 15, 2018
How do you teach a grown bear new tricks?An intrepid young bird-watcher in pursuit of a Scouting merit badge decides to help a bear find a snack in this whimsical tale. "DON'T EAT THAT!!!" Gertie explodes when she sees it about to chomp on a rock. Thanks to frontmatter illustrations, readers know what she does not: The bear has been dropped off by the city zoo and so doesn't know how to function in the woods. Comic-strip panels alternate with full- or double-page spreads, with the text largely confined to dialogue bubbles, while cartoony Photoshop illustrations carry most of the story. Basic efforts at communication between the two prove problematic, and the bear's lack of woods savvy (it tries to eat a skunk) and skills (it can't swim) don't help either. Puns abound as multiple efforts by the protagonist fail to come to fruition. The two end up far from happy, and Gertie starts to realize that her help may not be so helpful after all. Surely they can work together so that it can learn to fill its tummy! While there is little wholly original here, the messages of friendship and teamwork are portrayed nicely, the minimal text will appeal to reluctant readers, and youngsters will come away with a chuckle. Gertie has blonde hair and pale skin.An uncomplicated tale of consideration and cooperation rendered in an accessible format. (Picture book. 3-7)

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Starred review from April 23, 2018
The latest from Sheneman (Nope!) looks and reads like an extended classic Sunday comic. His story has two protagonists: an unflappable girl determined to get a nature merit badge and the hulking brown bear she encounters in the woods. But this is no ordinary bear; even though he’s famished, he’s incapable of feeding himself. The book’s endpapers and title page show that he’s a former denizen of the city zoo. After preventing Bear from eating a rock (hence the title) and calmly explaining that Bear can’t eat her (“That would be terribly rude,” she says, without flinching), the girl takes him on as a project. From there, the ink-and-watercolor drawings portray a kind of My Fair Lady set in the wild. Bear fumbles in his foraging (even a rabbit gets the better of him) and, in a moment of frustration, eats the girl’s merit-badge logbook and spits it out with a supercilious “ptui.” Still, the girl perseveres, ultimately proving she’s a mentor ne plus ultra. Seamlessly blending verbal and visual humor, Sheneman lands every joke—including some truly cringeworthy puns. Ages 3–5. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management.

March 1, 2019

K-Gr 2-When the good scout Gertie stumbles upon a recently released grizzly bear eating a rock, she decides to set him straight. Their initial efforts to teach him the survival skills he needs may prove fruitless, but once they combine the girl's knowledge with the bear's prowess, they easily achieve their goal. Gertie, the stereotypical scout, is knowledgeable, proficient, and independent, but not selfless. Originally, she helps out of the expectation of receiving her scout merit badge. By the end though, she herself is set straight, earning something much more valuable. Sheneman brings his cartoonist's sensibilities to the picture book format. The design, the progression, and the humor have the feel of a newspaper comic strip; adults will get a laugh out of this story just as much as children will. The illustrations are drawn with a thin pen-like tool, digitally painted in common forest shades, and appear in a carefully constructed mixture of paneled, panel-less, and full spread layouts. Verbal and visual comedy are used in equal measure. For the former, a few puns are thrown in to add flavor to the straightforward monologue. As an example of the later, the bear's primary means of expressing his thoughts are funny gestures. His relative silence contrasts nicely with Gertie's verbosity. VERDICT With its comic-strip roots, amusing characters, and message of friendship over individual merit, Don't Eat That makes a great intergenerational read.-Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont.

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2018
Grades 1-3 A quick education in living off the land takes place as a huge brown zoo bear dropped off in the woods and a small Girl Scout seeking her Wildlife Buddy merit badge help each other out. Warning the clueless but amiable ursine that rocks are not food ( What were you thinking? ), nor are Girl Scouts ( That would be terribly rude ), the take-charge child embarks on a search for something to settle the bear's loudly grumbling tummy. A series of failed tries?with mud, pine cones, and a discouragingly aggressive rabbit?leaves both pretty grumpy. In Sheneman's big cartoon panels and full-page scenes, the silent bear's gesticulations are as easy to read as the young naturalist's running commentary and lame attempts at humor ( I'm sorry, big guy. I didn't mean to be so unbearable ). Things finally start looking up after a brief spat, and following closer looks at her manual, the scout finds a patch of luscious berries, a beehive, and a good spot to fish. A droll addition to the annals of interspecies partnerships.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)