Chimps Don't Wear Glasses
Text fails to live up to illustrations.
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that the verses here are uninspiring.
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What's the Story?
A piece of doggerel verse--\"Mice don't join Boy Scouts / And llamas don't shop / And hamsters don't clean / with a broom and a mop\"--sets the stage for some wild illustrations of the animals doing just that.
At the book's end, readers are invited to imagine their own oddities, even though Numeroff can't stop hurling her ideas about.
Is It Any Good?
Joe Mathieu's illustrations have a gusto and humor all their own. It is clear that Laura Numeroff could have written "dogbone" -- and her verse sometimes approximates that term in originality -- and he would have drawn a cunning and witty scene to accompany it. This volume is a sequel to Numeroff and Mathieu's Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers, and Numeroff evidently didn't feel the need to give this book a new ending. Which is a shame, because it is such a loser.
"Now just close your eyes and draw with your mind. / You might be surprised at what you will find ... ." Yes, readers might be, if Numeroff would give them a chance, but she babbles on with another eight examples before rounding on her readership: "But tell me what you see. It's your dream -- not mine!"
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about rhymes. Encourage kids to come up with their own silly verses and illustrations after reading the book together.
Book Details
- Author: Laura Numeroff
- Illustrator: Joe Mathieu
- Genre: Humor
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster
- Publication date: January 1, 2000
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 7
- Number of pages: 32
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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