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OLLIE THE ELEPHANT

From the Tuff Books series

Of course Ollie wants a brother…for a little familial warmth and dependability.

Ollie, pining for a baby brother, goes on a walkabout to find one or become someone else’s.

Ollie had high hopes of getting a baby brother for his birthday, but when that doesn’t pan out—“You don’t get little children for your birthday,” his mother rather unsympathetically tells him—he straps on his roller skates and heads out the door to see what he might find. When no baby elephants materialize, Ollie asks a number of other creatures if he can join their clans—a stag, a frog, a bat—but since he isn’t one of them (he hasn’t got the stag’s horns, for instance, though he does tie a chair on his head in a heartbreaking attempt), nothing really works out. He gets lost, he breaks his leg, and he gets found. His mother tells him, “your father and I plan to have more children,” still rather unsympathetically, like she’s going to get an oil change or something. Bos’ narrative is verbose, practically swamping de Beer’s delicate but comic pen-and-ink illustrations, and remarkably unmusical (though perhaps that's the translation). Its punchy directness has an undeniable clarity and a measure of drama. But really, Ollie’s gone for four days and all Mother can say is “we’ve been so worried about you”?

Of course Ollie wants a brother…for a little familial warmth and dependability. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: April 1, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-7358-4075-1

Page Count: 28

Publisher: NorthSouth

Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012

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PAPA DOESN'T DO ANYTHING!

A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.

In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.

Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.

A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: May 13, 2025

ISBN: 9781250393975

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 9, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015

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