Nate Wragg

Elwood Bigfoot: Wanted Birdie Friends! by Jill Esbaum

ELWOOD BIGFOOT: WANTED BIRDIE FRIENDS!
Written by Jill Esbaum 
Illustrated by Nate Wragg
(Sterling Children’s Books; $14.95, Ages 4-7)

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In Elwood Bigfoot: Wanted Birdie Friends! all Elwood Bigfoot wants is a friend – preferably a feathered, flittery bird friend! But his earnestly clumsy bigfoot-y manner gets in his way time after time. How can a lonely, large, LOUD Bigfoot get close to his avian amigos-to-be?

Elwood tries the direct approach first, chasing after swooping birds and hollering for the birdies to come back. Alas, they only fly away. His next idea is to live in a tree, where he can be closer to the birds. His dedicated handiwork produces a lovely, log cabin style tree house perched against the mountainside. Surely his new neighbors, the birds, will welcome him.

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Reprinted with permission from Elwood Bigfoot © 2015 by Jill Esbaum, Sterling Children’s Books, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Illustrations by Nate Wragg.

Alas, the birds seem shy. So Elwood tries to disguise himself, dressing like a bird from head to toe with feathers, beak and feet. Experiencing a modicum of success, Elwood thinks he’s finally about to break the barriers to feathered friendship. He shouts for joy! Alas (once again!) the birdies fly away.

Esbaum’s charming, lyrical text is delightful to read aloud and incorporates intriguing, playful vocabulary. She perfectly captures Elwood’s sense of loneliness in ways that a child can easily connect to, and she conveys his upbeat, hopeful and innovative spirit in appealing ways. While readers see that making friends is not always easy, learning to take the perspective of others is an essential part of the process.

Wragg’s illustrations turn Elwood into a marvelous, huggable furball. With a jaunty fedora and sarfari-style binoculars, Elwood is well-equipped for his bird-watching exploits. A single triangular fang and four-fingered, three toed shagginess add to Elwood’s monstrous appeal. Wragg also turns out an impressive flock of feathered friends throughout the pages, and displays them prominently on the book’s endpages. Whimsical and colorful, the birds’ tiny round eyes and pointy beaks reveal an impressive range of tender and comical emotions.

Elwood Bigfoot : Wanted Birdie Friends! is a sweet tale of patience, persistence and friendship. Young readers may look hard at the birds in the yards and trees around them, wondering if they are among Elwood’s best buddies. Don’t miss this encouraging story about dreams that do come true.

A downloadable activity kit is available here.

  • Reviewed by Cathy Ballou Mealey

 

Where Obtained:  I reviewed a copy of Elwood Bigfoot: Wanted Birdie Friends! from the publisher and received no other compensation. The opinions expressed here are my own.

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Goldi Rocks and the Three Bears by Corey Rosen Schwartz & Beth Coulton

“Goldi Rocks and the Three Bears puts a perfect twist on a beloved fairytale classic,” says reviewer MaryAnne Locher.

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Gold Rocks and the Three Bears by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Beth Coulton with illustrations by Nate Wragg, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2014.

In Goldi Rocks and the Three Bears by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Beth Coulton with illustrations by Nate Wragg, (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $16.99, Ages 5-8), the story begins with Papa, Mama, and Baby bear who have their own rock-n-roll band, but are in need of a soprano. When they leave their cottage to find one, the story, written in pitch perfect verse, follows the original tale. Goldi Rocks comes knocking on the three bears’ cottage door, only to find it unlocked, empty with some porridge cooling on the table. This is where the story takes a spin faster than a D.J. scratching records. Goldi forgets her hunger when she sees the music studio with Papa Bear’s drums, Mama Bear’s guitar, and Baby Bear’s keyboard, all of which she must try out, making a mess of things as she goes.

Meanwhile, the bears are holding auditions with some other familiar fairytale characters, but none of them quite work out. The bears return home only to find the cottage a terrible mess and Goldi Rocks asleep on Baby Bear’s keyboard.

They stared at the
slumbering blond girl,
and Papa asked,
“Who could she BE?”
He disrupted her dream.
She awoke with a scream-
the pitch was a perfect high C!

The three bears quickly forget about the mess Goldi had made once they hear her fine soprano voice, and ask her to join the band.

Corey Rosen Schwartz is no stranger to the fractured fairytale, her previous success being The Three Ninja Pigs, but forming a duo with co-author Beth Coulton makes for a chart topper! This may be Wragg’s debut picture book, but his background in animating projects including Ratatouille, Toy Story 3, and Puss in Boots give him the chops needed to bring this book to life through his illustrations.

Just as the band’s song,“Too Hot, Too Cold, or Just Right?” is a hit single, I believe this book will be as well.

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