BOOKS

Not What It Seems

by Paula VÁSQUEZ
illus. by Paula Vásquez. 40p. Gibbs Smith. Mar. 2017. Tr $14.99. ISBN 9781423646914.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—This simple and silly title introduces a group of animals in clever and unusual ways. It opens, "This is not a rooster," and with the turn of a page, explains, "It is an alarm clock," as the bird throws back his head with a loud "cock-a-doodle-do!" An elephant is revealed to be a shower, a kangaroo subs as a shopping cart, and a deer is a clothes hanger. The illustrations are whimsical, cheerful, and very colorful, and the book lends itself to different interpretations.
VERDICT Pair with Jan Thomas's A Birthday for Cow and Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Pig a Party for a hilarious and interactive birthday or celebration storytime, or Antoinette Portis's Not a Box for an imagination storytime. A suitable purchase for most libraries.
Reviewed by Shana Morales, Windsor Public Library, CT
"This is NOT a rooster / it is an alarm clock" is illustrated with a rooster cock-a-doodle-dooing on an elephant's back. "This is NOT an elephant / it is a shower" shows the elephant spraying a shower-capped kangaroo. Readers will smile as six additional animals in nursery-soft shapes and colors work until playtime: "This is NOT a BOOK / it is a...PARTY."
 , Jul 01, 2017

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