Ross Burach

Ross Burach, the creator of such humorous picture-books as Truck Full of Ducks and I Am Not a Chair!, turns to the subject of metamorphosis in this newest title. Seeing many of his peers climbing a tree, the eponymous little caterpillar here wants to know what they are up to. Learning that they are about to transform into butterflies, he joins them, only to find that his impatience makes it hard for him to wait inside the chrysalis. Will he EVER manage to become a butterfly...?

With a title show more like The Very Impatient Caterpillar, it's hard not to believe that Ross Burach offering tribute, or at least referencing Eric Carle's classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. That said, although the stories are similar in their general outline - a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly by the end of the book - their general feeling, and their art styles, are quite different. This caterpillar is (as the title makes plain) quite impatient, and his constant questioning recalls the behavior of children, when looking forward to something, in ways that are quite amusing. The back and forth dialogue between the caterpillar and his fellows had me chuckling on more than one occasion, while the colorful artwork accentuated the humor. Recommended to Ross Burach fans, to anyone looking for a somewhat more offbeat, irreverent look at metamorphosis, than that found in the Carle book, and to those in the market for stories about youthful impatience. show less

Anyone who has ever met, however briefly, a toddler or preschooler will laugh hysterically as they recognize the combination of wild enthusiasm and complete lack of patience in this silly caterpillar.

The story opens with neon orange endpages and a series of white caterpillar outlines tromping across them. Then, we meet the caterpillars. Green with orange stripes and black dots, they are journeying up the tree. Our main character (with additional purple spots - you can't miss her) is thrilled show more to find out that they are going to meta, meta, er, change into butterflies. Next comes the chrysalis. But how does she build it? "Is it a spin? Or more of a twirl?"

Next comes patience.

Unfortunately, the caterpillar just isn't so good at the patience part! She quickly drives the other caterpillars nuts and there's a hilarious spread showing the caterpillar inside her chrysalis freaking out! Two weeks! "What if I need the bathroom?" She breaks free and flies! Or not. Back to the chrysalis. A curious squirrel looks blankly at the endless arguments coming from the wiggly chrysalis. Finally, the caterpillar manages to find her quiet place and she slowly fades into goo as she metamorphoses... and emerges as a butterfly!

Phew! All that patience paid off! Now it's time to migrate. Wait, WHAT??

Burach's bug-eyed bugs with wild spots, flashy wings, and vibrant colors explode across the page in a wildly wiggly story that teaches some simple facts of the caterpillar life cycle as well as the importance of patience!

Verdict: Funny, informative, and delightfully illustrated, enjoy bugging out with this buggy tale in storytimes and one on one. Don't forget lots of Muppet-arm flailing and yelling!

ISBN: 9781338289411; Published February 2019 by Scholastic; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library show less

This is promoted as a "Never Bored book!" and it is definitely not boring! Get those hands ready, because it's hi-five time!

In a series of brightly colored pictures, little readers have the opportunity to hi-five a variety of animals, from a crocodile to a shark, penguin to a polar bear. Not just regular hi-fives though, a round the back polar bear paw slap, lots of monkey paws - don't leave them hanging! and a good foot-stomping trunk slap are just a few of the fun options. The animals are show more goofy cartoons with exaggerated paws, trunks, and flippers that swing across blocks of color on the pages, yellow, blue, and green.

Additional instructions to growl, stomp, roar, or swing are included as well, adding to the fun of this bright little board book. It's a nice, solid square with high-contrast colors that will appeal to babies and toddlers alike.

Verdict: A must-have for your board book section, if you can afford to invest in a big set of these they'd make an awesome lapsit or toddler storytime choice.

ISBN: 9781338245677; Published August 2018 by Scholastic; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

The "Truck Full of Ducks" service hits a snag when one of the anatine passengers (or are they workers?) eats the directions to their newest client's house in this amusing, madcap picture-book adventure. As Bernie the driver asks everyone they meet whether they ordered a truck full of ducks, the reader gets to tag along as this truckful of fun encounters all sorts of odd vehicles, businesses, and homes. When they finally arrive at a fox's home in the deep, dark woods, it seems that something show more very sinister is about to occur. But is it...?

Author/illustrator Ross Burach's fourth picture-book - his fifth, if you count Jennifer Hamburg's Billy Bloo is Stuck in Goo, which he illustrated - Truck Full of Ducks pairs an wacky, entertaining tale with brightly-colored, amusing illustrations with plenty of humorous little visual details. I particularly liked the newspaper that one of the ducks was reading, with the headline "Stuff Happens" emblazoned across it. Recommended to Ross Burach fans, and to anyone looking for fun new picture-books featuring a madcap cast of characters and their offbeat adventures. show less