In Hip and Hop Don’t Stop! and Yes, Yes, Yaul! Czekaj has made clear his affinity for old-school hip-hop. He dials the entertainment back even further in this barnyard tale, which is propelled by an old-fashioned game of telephone. “I have a secret,” a bubble-gum pink pig whispers, hoof to mouth, to a blank-eyed rooster: “Oink. Pass it on.” The rooster, in turn, relays an “Oink-a-doodle-doo” to a cow, whose “Oink-a-doodle-moo” becomes a frog’s “Oink-a-ribbit-moo,” and so on. Czekaj’s (Cat Secrets) cartoon animals race around the farm wearing determined expressions that contrast comically with the absurdity of the message they are delivering, and when a cat asks a hapless dog to pass on “Hee-haw-oink-baa-quack-caw-ribbit-hiss-neigh-meow-moo-hoo-squeak,” the dog gulps. He runs helter-skelter to the pig and, with an embarrassed, hangdog look, eventually confesses, “I can’t do it.” The book’s ending becomes its beginning as the pig says, “Don’t worry... we’ll just start over!” Czekaj wrings an impressive amount of humor from a simple conceit; the story will likely have children ready to play telephone (or just make some animal noises). Ages 3–6. (June)
This circular tale offers plenty of laughs, and children will love to join in on the wacky string of animal sounds. A great storytime choice....Pass it on.” — School Library Journal
“Get ready for many, ever-sillier rereadings.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Czekaj wrings an impressive amount of humor from a simple conceit; the story will likely have children ready to play telephone (or just make some animal noises).” — Publishers Weekly
“The simple compositions, dynamic posed animals, bright colors, and large word bubbles will make this as successful with larger groups as it will be with an audience of a few.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for CAT SECRETS: “There’s readalone potential here as well as readaloud, but most of all there’s pretend-to-be-a-kitty potential, and kids will find the opportunity irresistible.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for CAT SECRETS: “The book has obvious appeal as a read-aloud, with its instructions and large-format cartoons, but it has the intimacy of a story to be read independently.” — School Library Journal
Praise for CAT SECRETS: “Irresistible cartoon art.” — ALA Booklist
Praise for CAT SECRETS: “Expressive, high-contrast, high-energy cartoons.” — Publishers Weekly
The simple compositions, dynamic posed animals, bright colors, and large word bubbles will make this as successful with larger groups as it will be with an audience of a few.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for CAT SECRETS: “Irresistible cartoon art.
The simple compositions, dynamic posed animals, bright colors, and large word bubbles will make this as successful with larger groups as it will be with an audience of a few.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
The simple compositions, dynamic posed animals, bright colors, and large word bubbles will make this as successful with larger groups as it will be with an audience of a few.
The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
K-Gr 2—In this funny barnyard game of Telephone, a pig whispers to a rooster: "I have a secret. Oink. Pass it on." The rooster flits across the field and tells the cow, "Oink-a-doodle-doo. Pass it on." As the message makes the rounds, each animal adds a sound of its own. The unlucky dog at the end of the chain races back to the pig and struggles to remember, "Hee-haw-oink-baa-quack-caw-ribbit-hiss-neigh-meow-moo-hoo-squeak." When the pooch admits defeat ("Oink-a-...Um, uh… Ribbit-quack...hiss-something-something-moo....I can't do it"), the pig is reassuring: "Don't worry...we'll just start over!" Czekaj's digitally colored cartoon characters have big, expressive eyes and lots of personality as they dash across the pages with focused intent. This circular tale offers plenty of laughs, and children will love to join in on the wacky string of animal sounds. A great storytime choice....Pass it on.—Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada
Warning: This book will make children want to play the telephone game all day long. "I have a secret," the pig says. He leans in close, so the chicken can hear him. "Oink," he whispers. "Pass it on." Alert readers will already see where this is going. Fifteen pages later, the message is much longer. "Are you sure you're ready?" the cat asks the dog. The cat, looking just a tiny bit panicked, says, "Hee-haw-oink-baa-quack-caw-ribbit-hiss-neigh-meow-moo-hoo-squeak. Pass it on." This is a book to read more than once. That's not because it's difficult to follow, but readers might miss details like the tiny sound effects of the animals' feet the first couple of times through. The chicken goes flit flit. The cow goes galump galump. And on the last few pages of the book, when everything has gone horribly awry, the pig has a wonderful look of delight on his face. Czekaj has drawn him with just a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Don't worry…" he says…"we'll just start over." A biographical note says that the author "is a cartoonist, children's book author and illustrator, and underground DJ." It makes him sound a little subversive. His animals have just as much personality. Get ready for many, ever-sillier rereadings. (Picture book. 3-6)
The old-school game of telephone is always good for a grade-school laugh, and setting the classic pastime in a barnyard practically guarantees one…made for reading and laughing aloud.
The New York Times Book Review
