Available:*
Library | Material Type | Shelf Number | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Lebanon Junction Branch | Juvenile Book | E CAST | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Bored and restless on a summer day, a little boy steals his sister's bunny and sends it on an adventure. He is well satisfied with the results--until his own stuffed animal disappears. Could it be that he is not the only troublemaker around . . . ?
A case of sibling rivalry is neatly resolved with the "assistance" of a hilarious raccoon in Lauren Castillo's warm, simple text and gorgeous classic illustrations.
Author Notes
Lauren Castillo is the illustrator of several acclaimed picture books. This is the second she has both written and illustrated. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and you can also find her at www.laurencastillo.blogspot.com and follow her on Twitter @studiocastillo .
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-A mischievous and very bored boy decides to pilfer his sister's stuffed bunny for his pirate game. Chastised by his mom, he decides to play nicely with his toy raccoon. Too bad he doesn't look around, because some mysterious troublemaker begins to skulk off with the children's toys. Sharp-eyed readers will notice the work of a hoarding real raccoon. The final straw is when the thief steals the boy's blanket overnight. When he awakens, he spots the raccoon surrounded by his belongings asleep in a tree-"What a troublemaker!" The full-color pen-and-ink art, compiled digitally, features strong black lines, silhouettes, and a playful variety of perspectives to follow the action. The use of shadows and illustrations glimpsed through circles (as if readers are peeking in) create a sense of suspense. Hands, paws, toys, and characters pop in and out of the page edges, lending a playful immediacy to the plot. The antics of the raccoon and having the tables turn on the boy helps him understand his sister's feelings of loss and weave a subtle lesson into the bright clever plot.-Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Castillo (Melvin and the Boy) gives her typically sweet-tempered artwork a dash of hot sauce with this tale about a mischievous boy who's outdone by a thieving raccoon. The "bored" narrator snatches his sister's stuffed bunny, blindfolds it, and ties it to the mast of his toy boat. "Off ye go, matey!" the boy says to his co-conspirator, a stuffed raccoon, as he "send[s] the prisoner out to sea." The boy's mother and sister protest, and when the bunny disappears again, they naturally blame the boy. Readers see the real troublemaker-an actual raccoon-dragging the long-suffering bunny off into the woods. When the boy's stuffed raccoon disappears next, he gets a taste of his sister's distress. More thievery follows, and the next morning, the raccoon thief is found asleep on a tree branch surrounded by the missing plunder. Gradually, the boy develops empathy for his sister's point of view ("I miss Rascal... I bet Sister misses Bunny, too"), and the penultimate spread shows him restoring Bunny to her with big-brotherly care. The raccoon gets the last laugh, though. Ages 4-8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
A troublemaker is hiding right on this book's cover, but readers might not notice him: the little boy wearing a paper hat and brandishing a toy sword takes center stage. And to be honest, the boy is a bit of a troublemaker himself. With his stuffed raccoon, Rascal, as his sidekick, he steals his sister's stuffie, a rabbit, and sends it out on the lake. The bunny comes back wet, but then it disappears again, and the boy gets the blame. Perceptive children will note it's the real raccoon who is doing the taking. When the live animal gets his paws on Rascal, the boy learns how it feels to lose a friend. The story doesn't have many surprises readers know the culprit but the slight shortcomings are more than balanced by the clever artwork that strikes just the right note. Smartly using black outlines to make her figures sturdy and interposing pages composed of silhouettes, Castillo offers something interesting on every page, either winsome or whimsical. Excellent for storytimes, too.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist