Oodles of Animals

PreS-Gr 2Kids will have a grand time poring over the pictures in Ehlert's latest offering. A variety of animals, from insects to birds to giant mammals, is represented in her trademark cut-paper collage style. The artist uses scissors, pinking shears, and a hole punch to transform brightly colored papers into squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, diamonds, half circles, ovals, hearts, and teardrops of different sizes, which she then fashions into a menagerie guaranteed to spark readers' imaginations. Each creature is coupled with a short, humorous poem that is sure to delight: "If her tail's raised/give a skunk room, /unless you like/pee-yoo perfume." And who can resist this ditty: "A cat/is a purr/wrapped up/in fur." Young children will enjoy identifying the animals while older kids will be inspired to grab some scissors and paper to create their own geometric zoo. Teachers can use this book to jump-start art and creative writing lessons, but kids will just like it because it's oodles of fun."Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT" Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Ehlert ("Wag a Tail") finds freshreason to marvel at creatures great and small in this vibrant, oversize book, longer than her previous titles. Portraits of various animals, from caterpillar to elephant, each pair with a short rhyme about what makes the beast or bird distinct (Penguins know/ from birth/ their wings won't fly/ from Earth; A newt looks cute/ in its polka-dot suit). Her arresting signature cut-paper collages strike a playful balance between boldness of color and simplicity of shape. The result is a series of fluid compositions as the artist uses pinking shears and hole punches to add texture to triangles, semicircles, hearts and the like, and then cleverly combines and layers them to convey depth, movement and humor. She remains a master at creating spreads that are chock-full of things to see, but never crowded or too busy in their design. Ages 37. "(May)" Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.