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PICTURE BOOKS
Shea, Bob

Chez Bob

40 pp. | Little | August, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-316-48311-7 $17.99
(2) K-3 It's a genius plan: Bob the alligator opens a birdseed restaurant on his snout. "Birds will come to eat, but I will eat the birds! I will sell my super-smart idea to other lazy alligators. I will be rich and famous and great." But like the best-laid plans of other species, Bob's scheme goes awry--which is lucky for readers, because the results are flat-out funny. After a satisfying dining experience, Bob's first customer flies off to tell its friends, and soon birds from around the world flock to eat at/on Bob's nose. The enterprise is so successful that "a little town sprang up around Chez Bob." With his eyes still on the prize but also on his new standing "as a small-business owner," Bob gets involved in local activities, including coaching the birds' basketball team (on his nose, of course). Shea (Dinosaur vs. Bedtime, rev. 9/08, among many others) serves up equal helpings of visual and narrative humor. Alligator Bob's protruding googly eyes--upon one of which perches a chef's hat--give him a comedic rather than menacing edge. Playful details in the art, varied perspectives, and effective page-turns enhance the story's humor. Saturated colors (including Bob's mustard-yellow hide) and dynamic type placement help convey emotion and energy. When a thunderstorm hits, civic-minded Bob offers the little birds safe haven--in his mouth--and now faces a choice. Are they friends or food? The answer is clear when Bob realizes that the birds have given him what he didn't know he was hungry for: community. From its punny, self-referential appetizer of a title (flip the author's name) to its sweet ending, Chez Bob offers a story-time feast.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

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