K Is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
The team that brought you the bubbly, confidence-building Giraffes Can't Dance again tickles your funny bone with this fauna-crazy ABC book that's pure pleasure. Although "A is for apple that grows on a tree / B is for busy and big bumble-bee" sounds like your average ABC book, Andrea and Parker-Rees's letters burst into life, taking on a pizzazz all their own. Brightly colored critters striking hilarious poses and performing laugh-out-loud stunts cover every page, such as the blissfully full cat -- "C is for cat who has got all the cream" -- relaxing on a cushion, surrounded by crocuses, with a canary and a chocolate cake nearby. Likewise, a robot on roller skates zooms along a trail in "R is for robot and racing machine," followed by a rocket-driving raccoon, a rabbit in a carrot-mobile, and more. All 26 letters are loaded with items to get readers thinking, and if you're not sure if you've overlooked something, the creators have even provided a partial list in back.

Andrea and Parker-Rees's zippy ABC's will keep kids coming back for more. Younger children will scour the pages for easier items, while more difficult objects provide that extra challenge. A rollicking read that begs for quality sharing between parents and kids, this pick-me-up is an energetic plus for any bookshelf. Matt Warner

Publishers Weekly

The fun of K Is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo by Giles Andreae emanates from Guy Parker-Rees's renderings of an exuberantly silly animal world. All kinds of ABC-themed things pop up in his artwork. For "B is for busy and big bumblebee" he not only shows the plump bee in flight, but also a boat filled with a bull, bear, bucket, ball, and a beaver holding a balloon which is threatened by the bee's stinger. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

Bold colors, clever illustrations and fanciful humor make this fast moving, rhyming alphabet book fun to read aloud to youngsters. Some of the letters are defined by the obvious, such as "e is for elephant, mighty and strong." Others are a bit different as in, "h is for holding the hand of a child." The court jester is shown running away while saying that the q is for "Quickly, I've cuddled the Queen!" Adding to the fun is a back-of-the book listing of things the reader might miss. They are categorized by letter and kids will be able to look through the book and find the pictures. The letter O includes the words owl, olives and otter. A closer look at the page for the letter O reveals that those three items do indeed appear although they are not mentioned in the actual text. This gives the book an interactive aspect kids are sure to enjoy. 2002, Orchard/Scholastic, Ages 3 to 6.
— Carolyn Mott Ford

School Library Journal

K-Gr 1-"A is for apple that grows on the tree" may sound like a pretty conventional beginning for an ABC book, but when the accompanying illustration depicts an aardvark balancing on an anteater, reaching up for the juicy red fruit while bemused ants look on from the branches above, readers know they're in for a treat. Each page contains an upper- and lowercase letter, with an action-packed picture featuring animals and objects beginning with that letter. The rollicking rhyme scheme is amusing and fresh-"u is for unicorn, uncle, and udder/v is for vampire whose teeth make you shudder"-and the full-bleed watercolor paintings are as bright as candied apples. Grammar purists may object to the phrase "l is for loving, like Daddy loves you," but it's hard to fault a book that's so brimming with color, action, and humor. It can be used as a fun read-aloud to a group as well as for one-on-one sharing.-Anna DeWind Walls, Milwaukee Public Library Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.