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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Boo To You! Written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert. Beach Lane, Simon & Schuster, 2009. $19.99 ages 3 and up


"That scary cat's back.
Boy, what a bummer!
Seeing that puss
could spoil
our summer."

The mice are fully prepared to enjoy the fruits of their harvesting labors; but they worry about the black cat who has no desire for their vegetarian pleasures. They know that his favorite food is meat and they fear the part they might play in his autumn repast. The cat is obviously not invited; that does not ensure his absence. They need not have worried! They are well prepared to do battle with that black monster and in this battle their ingenious artistry prevails.

"Just as we're about to dine,
That cat peeks out from behind a vine.
But we know exactly what to do.
We'll scare that scary cat...

BOO TO YOU!"

The celebration continues as the cat scampers off!

Using her amazing talent with collage construction and an abundance of natural materials, Lois Ehlert once again astonishes her readers with double page spreads filled with torn paper, twine, tomatoes, vegetables, seeds, nuts, ribbons, berries, and pine cones.

The mice are masked to protect their identities, they nosh on a wide variety of vegetarian fare and the brilliant colors and creative images will have children aching to try their own collage work. Isn't that what we want for a response?

Following up with Pumpkin Talk, the author provides useful information and a recipe for roasting pumpkin seeds. I can almost smell them. There are photos of jack-o-lanterns and fresh-faced children enjoying the fun of the fall harvest and dress-up! She also includes cut-out photographs of the many colorful materials she used to create her brilliant artwork. Now, go back and find them in the illustrations!

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