Who Done It?

October 12, 2015
With a format that enhances its playful concept, this narrow, vertically oriented book offers lineups of impish animals, monsters, and children, along with reader-directed questions. Visual clues in the illustrations hint at the answers to questions include “Who is in love?” (a blushing boy holds a bouquet flowers behind his back), “Who couldn’t hold it?” (a brown animal blushes for other reasons, standing in a puddle), and “Who is nervous?” (a blue rabbit trembles as a bee hovers overhead). The fun is in the deadpan expressions of the characters and, even when readers have successfully spotted the culprits, finding them again is unlikely to get old. There’s plenty of opportunity for side conversations about what the other characters are up to, as well. Ages 3–5.

Starred review from August 1, 2015
The talented French author/illustrator Tallec returns with a puzzle game in which readers are challenged to pick the transgressor out of the lineup. At nearly 12 inches tall by 6 inches wide, this book is to be rotated 90 degrees and read latitudinally. On the top of the top page, as it were, Tallec poses a question: "Who didn't get enough sleep?" "Who is nervous?" "Who forgot a swimsuit?" (That last one is easy.) The rest of the double-page up-and-down spread has a line of four or five characters-as in a police perp walk-on each page to choose from, populated by kids, anthropomorphic animals, and animallike animals. Sometimes there may be more than one answer, and sometimes the answer isn't altogether clear-cut: "Who ate all the jam?" Well, it could be the fox with the jam smeared all over its face, the queasy-looking rabbit, or the humongous dog-things aren't always as they appear. Each fine-lined character has a soupcon of personality, and the paints' shading and highlighting dazzle against the white backdrop. The limited amount of movement the characters are allowed is tapped to its deepest: in "Who's shy about dancing?" the mouse is firing off a mean petite allegro en pointe. "Who couldn't hold it?" (another easy one) is actually funny, not the usual desperate bid for yuks. One page of pleasure after another. (Picture book. 3-6)

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October 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 2-This long and slim French import is an absolute gem. Told mostly through illustration, it is a humorous seek-and-find book that will have kids opening the cleverly oriented horizontal-format pages again and again. Each spread sets up a question, beginning with "Who didn't get enough sleep?," and is followed by two rows of illustrations of people and animals set against plain white backdrops. Readers are asked to carefully observe each character's expression and demeanor to find the culprit. Funny questions like "Who couldn't hold it?" and "Who forgot a swimsuit?" will get kids giggling. The humor and detailed, expressive characters paired with the shape and feel of this book will delight a broad range of readers. VERDICT Great for storytime, lap reading, or independent readers, this is a must-have for most libraries serving children.-Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh, PA

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