  | Full Text Reviews: Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2016 In Baa Baa Smart Sheep (BCCB 2/16), Little Baa Baa tricked Quirky Turkey into eating poo; now Quirky Turkey wants revenge. As the title suggests, it takes the form of Quirky having some “lemonade” (made by Billy the goat) and trying to talk LBB into downing the stuff. The seemingly innocent-as-a-lamb lamb slyly turns the tables on the gormless turkey, however, by convincing him to drink it instead-and then throws in an additional potty-humor twist (“Here, have a cookie” donated, as it were, by the retreating cow) for a concluding flourish. The all-dialogue, all speech-ballooned text has the snappy comic patter of vaudeville, and it could prompt a great performance by lavatorial young thespians. Soothing neutral tones and minimal detailing keep the focus firmly on the joke and set off the easily readable text, but there’s some very subtle acting in the pencil and digital features of our cast that makes Little Baa Baa suspect right from the start. The Sommersets have a rare gift for making flowers of wit grow out of manure (or, in this case, pee), and youngsters who appreciate indelicacy will embrace Little Baa Baa and Quirky Turkey as Elephant and Piggie’s crude cousins. DS - Copyright 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. School Library Journal - 08/01/2016 K-Gr 2—In this follow-up to Baa Baa Smart Sheep, the duped Quirky Turkey is out for revenge. He waits for Little Baa Baa, shiftily holding a glass of "lemonade." "It looks a bit like pee," Little Baa Baa says. Turkey assures the lamb that the glass holds fresh-squeezed lemonade and is tricked into guzzling it down himself. "Oh no—I forgot. It WAS pee!" Little Baa Baa then offers the bird a cowpat "cookie." The goofy farm animals are drawn with a certain Boynton-esque charm, but there is no wit or kindness to soften the gross trickery. This title does not stand on its own, and the engaging cartoons and back-and-forth dialogue don't save it. VERDICT Although many young audiences will roar with laughter at the scatological humor, the mean-spiritedness and gross-out factor will be turnoffs for most adults.—Rachel Anne Mencke, St. Matthew's Parish School, Pacific Palisades, CA - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
 |