"Cute and familiar." - Kirkus
From New York Times Best-Selling illustrator, Kathryn Durst, and Penguin Workshop editors and authors, Renee Hooker and Karl Jones, comes a tale of a young girl who imagines her family as a pandemonium of parrots, a swarm of bees, a smack of jellyfish, a wisdom of wombats, and more!When a young girl gets frustrated with her chaotic life at home, she imagines what things would be like if her family were animals instead. Would life be better as a pod of pelicans, a pride of lions, or a herd of buffalo? Or is it ultimately a family of humans that she needs? In this beautifully illustrated book, young readers learn the names for groups of animals through a sweet, whimsical narrative that focuses on the importance of family.
Renee Hooker and Karl Jones are editors at Penguin Workshop and have previously authored books for Grosset & Dunlap, Mad Libs, Cartoon Network Books, and Penguin Young Readers Licenses.
Kathryn Durst is the New York Times Best-Selling illustrator of Paul McCartney's
Hey Granddude. She is graduate of Sheridan Art College of Ontario and a rising star in the picture book world. Having interned with Pixar Animation Studios and illustrated for other publishers, this is her Penguin Young Readers debut.
"A young girl wonders what life with her loud family would be like if they were animals instead of people.
Chaos surrounds her in the kitchen: Her younger brother is hurling yogurt at her, her baby brother is screaming, and her father is burning his shirt with the iron as her mother pays bills at the table. This all has the girl wondering “what
else we could be.” She imagines them all as a pod of pelicans, a swarm of bees, a pride of lions, a smack of jellyfish, and more, all appearing more peaceful than they are as humans at home. When she comes to imagining them as a wisdom of wombats, she realizes that life as animals would hold danger as well: “What if they tried to take my little brother to the zoo?!” In the final two spreads, the wild kitchen scene of the family preparing dinner together settles down as they sit down to a set table, where younger brothers are still messy but smiles abound. She realizes that “while we’re together, there’s no place I’d rather be.” Fun to read, and featuring both common and rare collective nouns (“a pandemonium of parrots”), the book ends with a note about collective nouns and a list of additional “terms of venery.” Humorous illustrations distinguish each family member in the animal imaginings with their signature hair and accessories, such as glasses and a pacifier. It’s a happy interracial family, with a black-presenting dad and Asian-presenting mom; the kids are all distinct individuals.
Cute and familiar.
" - Kirkus
