School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Grandpa Crow invites all the forest animals to a treetop soiree. After feasting on pizza and ice cream, the guests enjoy boogying to a tin-can drumbeat. The critters "bunny hop" and "chugga-chugga" along the branches until it's time for a game of Simon Says. At sunset, the partygoers settle in for a nap, but owls and luna moths crash the bash. Festivities start up again, and the evening sky is lit with "sparklers sparking and shooting stars shooting." Manders's comical watercolor, gouache, and pencil illustrations feature a host of cheerful, wide-eyed creatures, from squirrels and possums to mice and slugs. The rhyming text offers opportunities for listener participation: "Clap and shout and sing out, too-/Doo-boppa, doo-boppa, doo-boppa-doo." However, at times the verses are awkward and twee ("Then just in time for hungry tummies,/bluebirds came with yummy yummies"; "`I love pizza./There's nothing in the world I'd rather eat-za!'"), making this an additional purchase.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
As every host knows, a successful party is as much a matter of venue as it is the mix of guests and food. So when Grandpa Crow decides to hold a high altitude soiree-"What could be better than friends together at a party in a tree?"-everybody comes, from Baby Bear to "Ten slimy slugs." The fun doesn't stop once the sun goes down: when it turns dark, nocturnal animals arrive to "light this tree" both literally and figuratively. Martin's (Little Bunny and the Magic Christmas Tree) rhyming text has a hard-to-find meter, and the language can feel fusty ("Then just in time for hungry tummies,/ bluebirds came with yummy yummies"; he also rhymes "pizza" with "eat-za!"). But Manders's (Pirates Go to School) pictures are winners page after page. The full-throttle characterizations and exuberant physicality are reminiscent of vintage animation, while the ever-shifting perspectives give the action a gleefully frenetic, cinematic feel (one particularly impressive spread looks up into the tree as the animals bunny-hop across a branch). Thanks to Manders, these critters really are the very picture of party-hearty. Ages 2-5. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
