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Gilmore, Sophie

Terrific!

40 pp. | Greenwillow | July, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-302518-9 $17.99
(2) K-3 Five friends--Turtle, Anteater, Badger, Mandrill, and Owl--try to decide on a "terrific" activity to do together. Each suggests something that they enjoy themselves but that, when tried by the whole group, is not a success. Digging works for Badger, but not for Owl. Hanging from toes upside-down works for Mandrill--"your hands are free to comb your fur"--but not Anteater. Interloper Snake offers suggestions, but young readers will recognize them as the red flags they are--"I think squeezing things tightly in my coils is terrific." When the friends collapse in a heap, tired from their efforts to find a common pastime, Snake declares that "eating together is terrific" and proceeds to entwine them in his coils. Luckily, Owl rescues herself and the others by beating her wings. In the final spread the friends are feasting on a variety of fruits, vegetables, and fish, agreeing that eating together is indeed "TERRIFIC!" Did Owl, pictured with a smug smile and swollen belly as she preens a wing feather, eat the snake? It is up to readers to decide. The story is paced particularly well. As each animal suggests an activity, their figure fills the left-hand page of a spread, getting a turn in the spotlight. Lush, detailed illustrations, done in watercolor and pen and ink in a muted palette of greens, browns, and grays, invite readers close to the page to focus on each character's facial expressions and body language.
Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

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