Is There an Elephant in Your Kitchen?

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The best thing about these Super Chubbies for young readers is the way they feel in the handlike board book novels, and very grown-up. ``Is there a fork in your kitchen? Is there a spoon? And a cup? Is there an elephant in your kitchen? OH, NO! Is there a table? . . . '' and so forth. The listing of familiar kitchen items is appealing, as are the accompanying illustrations. Will kids catch on to the silliness of the idea? In Hippos, farm objects are catalogued. ``Are there hippos on the farm? OH, NO! Go home, hippos. Go home to the zoo.'' Gorillas and bears are also turned awaybut they aren't sent to their native continents or even a quiet forest setting, but only to the zoo. These are neither nonsensical nor logical; in fact, the concept is a rather loose one. But the books will produce some giggles. Ages 24. (May)

School Library Journal

PreS In Are There Hippos on the Farm?, children are told that several familiar animals live on the farm and asked if a familiar zoo animal also lives there. The answer is always ``Oh, No!'' in large red letters. Simple cartoon style illustrations in watercolor markers outlined in black felt tip appear on white background on cardboard pages bound in the small chubby board format. While the farm animals are surrounded by their young, the zoo animals are humorously pictured causing havoc, such as the bears sitting on eggs in the chicken coop. In Is There an Elephant in Your Kitchen?, children are asked if various familiar kitchen objects appear in their kitchen. When asked if an elephant is in their kitchen, the answer is always ``Oh, No!'' Kitchen objects are simply drawn, while the elephant is humorously pictured eating, baking, and napping. The questions with the repeated answer encourage audience participation. Made for small hands and focused on the familiar, the funny texts are easy enough for toddlers to ``read'' themselves after a few listenings. Good additions to toddler collections. Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, Ohio