Children will love this book. It is so cute. The pictures are very colorful and fun. ( )

In this rollicking tale, a blob of pink bubble gum melting in the middle of the road causes big trouble for five animals that get stuck in the "chewy-gooey icky-sticky" mess. Wheeler's snappy rhyming verse, loaded with silly words and onomatopoeia, begs to be read aloud: "Yuck! Ew! The Shrew's stuck, too! / Gooey shrew, gooey shrew / Pointy-nose-all-gluey shrew / Stomping, shouting 'FOOEY!' shrew / Can't get loose." The clever language is just part of the appeal of this well-designed picture book. Creative variations in size, style, and placement of text add visual excitement, as do the bold colors and patterns of Huliska-Beith's acrylic-and-fabric collage illustrations. Wildly exaggerated expressions and body language enhance the slapstick nature of the story and provide plot clues for pre-readers who are paging through on their own. Category: Books for the Young--Fiction. 2004, Little, Brown, $15.95. PreS-Gr. 1.

After a variety of animals get stuck one by one in bubble gum melting in the road, they must survive encounters with a big blue truck and a burly black bear.

After a variety of animals get stuck one by one in bubble gum melting in the road, they must survive encounters with a big blue truck and a burly black bear.