{"id":23738,"date":"2014-05-14T20:37:41","date_gmt":"2014-05-15T00:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=23738"},"modified":"2014-05-14T20:37:41","modified_gmt":"2014-05-15T00:37:41","slug":"review-of-whats-your-favorite-animal-by-eric-carle-and-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=23738","title":{"rendered":"Review of What’s Your Favorite Animal? by Eric Carle and Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"whats_your_favorite_animal_large\"<\/a>What\u2019s Your Favorite Animal?<\/em><\/p>\n

by Eric Carle and Friends<\/p>\n

Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2014. 36 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Your Favorite Animal?<\/em> is simply good fun. A collection of 14 fabulous illustrators of children\u2019s books answered that question and provided a picture to go with it.<\/p>\n

Many, such as Eric Carle, Peter Sis, Peter McCarty, Steven Kellogg, Susan Jeffers, and Erin Stead, give us a little story explaining their choice. Steve Kellogg says, \u201cMy older sister had claimed horses as her favorite animal, so I chose cows.\u201d Erin Stead tells us, \u201cI like how penguins seem confidently awkward on land but then glide so swiftly and expertly underwater.\u201d Peter Sis gives us a heart-warming story of blue carp at Christmas time in the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n

Nick Bruel goes with cartoon panels, telling us about the charms of octopuses \u2013 until Bad Kitty interferes. Rosemary Wells also uses panels, to show us the favored positions of a dog on my bed. Tom Lichtenheld gives us a limerick about giraffes.<\/p>\n

I think my favorite picture is Jon Klassen\u2019s duck. Those eyes. Classic Klassen.<\/p>\n

The rest are quite short. Chris Raschka\u2019s lovely snail, Lane Smith\u2019s show-off elephant, and Lucy Cousins\u2019 beautiful leopard are simply explained. But shortest of all is the entry by Mo Willems, with a picture of a snake with a bump in the middle: \u201cMy favorite animal is an Amazonian Neotropical Lower River Tink-Tink. (It is also this snake\u2019s favorite animal.\u201d<\/p>\n

This would require time for discussion in a storytime, and I think would work better shared one-on-one, or with a child to pore over in private. An elementary school art class could have a good time with it. Of course, it begs the question, \u201cWhat is your<\/em> favorite animal?\u201d<\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/whats_your_favorite_animal.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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