Speed up, Sammy the Tree Sloth! — Carl Emerson

PreS-Gr 1- These titles feature characters who struggle with self-esteem and acceptance. Predictably, the animal's flaw is pointed out (often unkindly) by others, he or she feels bad, and then a twist in the plot turns the problem into an asset. Arnie, for example, keeps disturbing a burrow of mice with his sticky tongue, but is redeemed when one of their babies falls into a tiny hole and he is the only one who can rescue it. Opie is ridiculed for the stinky smell he sometimes emits, but it is his odor that ends up saving him and several nose-holding rabbits from a wolf. The books are written in choppy, sometimes confusing prose, with errors as glaring as the repeated reference to the anteater's nose disturbing the mice, when it is actually his sticky tongue that is the problem. Most incongruous is the fact that the illustrator seems not to have read the text carefully, resulting in a snake described in the text as brown being depicted as bright green. The illustrations are reminiscent of clip art, with a limited color palette, generic facial expressions, and an overall lack of any distinctive style. The back page of each volume lists questions to answer, most of which are close-ended and do little to encourage discussion. The idea that self-esteem depends on the approval of others is the misguided message of these poorly executed books.-Amy Rowland, Guggenheim Elementary School, Port Washington, NY