This new Beginner Book about manic skiing squirrels-by J. Hamilton Ray with illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre-has the feeling of an old classic read-aloud. "Nobody knew how the mania grew. First there was one, and then there were two. Three more came gliding from under the trees. LOOK! On the hill. Those are squirrels on skis! Below lay the town, snow-covered and still. Not a sound could be heard. All was silent, until... Swwwishhhh swooped the skiers, all dressed for play. Eighty-five squirrels and more on the way!" As you can imagine, the townsfolk are NOT amused. Can intrepid reporter Sally Sue Breeze find out where the squirrels are getting their skis-and make them stop skiing long enough to eat lunch-before pest-control guy Stanley Powers sucks them up in his vacuum device? (Don't worry-Sally triumphs in a most unexpected way.) With delightfully understated, funny illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre, this is the perfect book for beginning readers to curl up and chill out with on a snow day-or any day!
Series Overview: In 1957, Theodore Geisel-known to the world as Dr. Seuss-wrote a book called The Cat in the Hat. It was fun to read aloud, easy to read alone, and impossible to put down. It was the first Beginner Book. And that's exactly what it did. It began to change the way children learn how to read, making learning to read a joy and reading for pleasure the best way to learn.
My Review
I think the book could have been called Squirrels Gone Crazy! This is a cute book, with likeable characters. Funny and enjoyable. My son really liked this book and thought the illustrations were fantastic. The words were on grade level (ages 5-8) for what the author recommends, with a few challenging ones thrown into the mix. The book followed an easy rhyming pattern and the story moved along at a nice pace that kept my little mans attention. I loved how the town pulled together to help out the squirrels setting a wonderful example of community and caring for each other-person and animal alike. I would easily recommend this book.
My Goodreads Review
About the Author
J. HAMILTON RAY is a children's television writer and producer. He's won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for Children, and among the many programs he has written for and produced is the hit PBS Kids television show Between the Lions. He has also produced animated videos of picture books, among them many by Dr. Seuss and P. D. Eastman. He and his wife-the novelist C. A. Belmond-divide their time between the woods of Redding, CT. (where the squirrel-watching is great), and France. Squirrels on Skis is his first book.
PASCAL LEMAITRE is the illustrator of numerous books for young people, and his editorial work appears regularly in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, Time, and Print. He spends half the year in Brussels, where he teaches at Le Cambre, and half the year in Brooklyn, New York. To find out more about him, visit www.pascallemaitre.com.
Illustrator Residence: Brooklyn, NY, and Brussels, Belgium
Disclaimer: I received this book curtsey of Edelweiss by Random House, in exchange for my honest review and opinion.The opinions expressed here are my own.
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