BOOKS

Bob, Not Bob!

by Audrey Vernick
SCANLON, Liz Garton & . Bob, Not Bob! illus. by Matthew Cordell. 40p. ebook available. Disney-Hyperion. Feb. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781484723029.
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PreS-Gr 2—Little Louie has a bad cold. His nose is clogged. His brain is fuzzy. In a sudden urge to abandon self-sufficiency, he yells for his mom—but congestion makes it sound like he's asking for "Bob," which is coincidentally the name of his dog. Instead of a warm, comforting parent, Louie gets his drooly, high-strung dalmatian. This is the central joke of the book. (For the former Bob, the "o" is stylized to look like a heart, while for the latter, it simply looks like an "o.") Readers are told that the text should "be read as though you have the worst cold ever." The story is child-centric if a bit unfocused and is in keeping with busy families and the havoc caused by ailing children. Cordell's Jules Feiffer—esque illustrations are entertaining, even though the unvaried white background could use more pep.
VERDICT Wheezy, sneezy kids are likely to enjoy hearing about someone who's as sick as they are and to giggle at the ongoing confusion. A competent but one-note addition.
Reviewed by Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY
Little Louie has a big head cold. "All he wanted (besides maybe some hot chocolate) was his mother." But with his stuffy nose, his calls for "MOM!" sound like "BOB!" And that's why his big, slobbery dog, Bob, comes running. Every time: "NO! NO, no, no! BOB, not BOB!" Soon, everyone--including faithful Bob--is frustrated and confused. The book jacket and title page advise reading this story aloud "as though you have the worst cold ever." The co-authors' narrative is satisfying beyond the funny gimmick, though, offering depth and heart in addition to the silly misunderstandings. Kids will relate to Little Louie's suffering from both his cold symptoms and his inability to make his wishes heard. Cordell's expressive loose-lined illustrations set on lots of white space enhance the humor and help move the plot forward. Sharp-eyed viewers will clue in to the difference between BOB meaning the dog (printed with an o-shaped O) and BOB meaning MOM (with a heart-shaped O: "B[heart symbol]B"). Eventually, Mom (exhausted), Little Louie (happy), and Bob (content) all end up in bed, as "cozy as could be." All turns out well for Little Louie; his germs, however, move on to the next victim. Get well soon, Bob, er, Mom! kitty flynn
 , Mar 01, 2017

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