The Snuggly

March 1, 2018
Preschool-G When Papa comes home with a snuggly to carry the new baby, Todd is fascinated. Todd places Banjo Bear in it, so he'll be close and safe, just like baby Ada. Wanting to show everyone at school, Todd marches off wearing his bear cozily wrapped up. Turns out snugglies are useful for many things. Todd picks up a cool cardboard tube to make a rocket, before his friends stuff in a library book, a snack, a baby kitten, and a jar of live tadpoles. As Todd shows the class his snuggly, it bursts! The pollywogs roll down the aisle, the lost kitten scampers away, and Banjo Bear flips onto a spilled jar of paint, causing Todd to conclude: A snuggly is good for just one thing. A baby . . . or a teddy bear. The vivid cartoonlike illustrations in colored pencil and ink show energetic scenes of people at work and play. The humorous pictures capture the various emotions on the children's faces as the faux backpack bursts, unloading its cargo in the catastrophic finale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)