Five Creatures

Rating:
Summary: Yes, MUCH better than 2 stars!
Review: Heartwarming book from the perspective of a preschooler classifying [a budding librarian!] the creatures in her house, two cats and three people.

"Two who lick each other. Five who kiss each other."
"One who sings loud at night." (one of the cats)
"One who sings loud in the morning." (Dad)

All of her cat-egories (sorry) are just exactly the categories a preschooler would come up with:

"Four who like to eat fish...two who like to eat mice. Only one who likes to eat beets."

And the pictures...perspectively-challenged, muddy pastel-ie montages from Bogacki...are perfect. If you haven't discovered his solo work, seek it out. This would make a great game starter for a family OR a storytime OR a classroom.

Rating:
Summary: Critically acclaimed and very fun!
Review: I can't believe that so far this book has only received 2-star customer reviews--perhaps these folks just don't get the charm of this book and are unusually critical. In fact, this title has received glowing reviews from many publications, including three *starred* reviews: Horn Book, School Library Journal, and Booklist. I plan to add it to my library collection.

Rating:
Summary: Old World Charm with a dollop of humor
Review: The most notable aspect of this charming picture book is the picture design, with old- world appeal vying with playful humor to create a perfect background for the whimsical text. Five family members are presented, with three humans and two cats sharing certain qualities and just as often showing their differences. The text is presented as part of the page design and draws the reader into the illustrations.
One who sings loud late at night
And one who sings in the morning.
The illustration on the left shows the male cat (with grey hair) yowling on the windowsill and the male human (with grey hair) singing into the mirror as he shaves. The story is told from the viewpoint of the one child in the story, one of three with orange hair.

Rating:
Summary: Weak attempt to get young readers thinking
Review: This book is boring! The author does try to get the reader to categorize (e.g., how many of the creatures in the house can open cupboards?), but some of the questions are confusing to kids. For example, the cupboards question pages show that the two adults and the two cats can open them, but not the child. HA! The author must not have ever been around normal children...

Rating:
Summary: Unsatisfying book for children
Review: This picture book will make for interesting yet ultimately unsatisfying reading for young children. A little girl who describes the "Five Creatures" in her family - her parents, herself, and two cats - tells the story. The girl demonstrates similarities and differences between the family members. Among the descriptions: three have orange hair (including one of the cats); three like to drink milk; and all five like sitting in front of a warm evening fire.

Jenkins and Bogacki do an admirable job of demonstrating distinctions and common interests among the five family members, but the book does not follow through on its promise to educate youngsters of these concepts. The text is written in a cold and declared style. The artwork, while cute and graceful in its chalk-colored pencil and charcoal renderings, fails to bring much warmth to the story. The book is satisfactory as a read-along, but children and parents can do better in searching for another book with a similar theme.