Don't talk to the animals

Pssst!
by Adam Rex

Harcourt Children's Books

Reviewed by Kelly Herold

Adam Rex's Pssst! poses a straight-forward question: "What happens when a bunch of animals have been cooped up too long?" It's a question Rex's protagonist--a serious little girl with a cute short bob--must keep in mind during a visit to the zoo. The bored animals call to her from their cages, whispering "pssst."  Once summoned, the little girl is bombarded with absurd requests from the animals.  The bears want tires, the sloths bike helmets, and the penguins?  The penguins want paint, of course.  All that snow and ice? Bo-ring.

Pssst! is brilliantly structured.  Rex makes sure the little girl remains the focal point visually throughout the story.  When she strolls through the zoo, the zoo is rendered in quick line drawings, while she's fully formed. The impressionistic zoo also contrasts strongly with the little girl's conversations with the animals.  Rex illustrates each conversation in a one-page, six-panel comic style--a trick that forces the reader to slow down and focus on the conversations between the girl and the animals.  And, slowing down is worth it.  These interspecies conversations are deeply weird and very funny.  Consider, for example, this discussion between the little girl and a pair of turkeys:

Little Girl: Yeah. Yeah. What now?
Turkey 1: We Want Corn.
Little Girl: Hey...This sign says I can't feed you.
Turkey 1: We don't want to eat the corn.
Turkey 2: Corn Corn Corn Corn Corn Corn
Turkey 1: We want to turn it into a clean-burning fuel.
Turkey 2: Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel
Little Girl: Um...Sure...
Turkey 1: Corn Corn Corn Corn Corn Corn
Turkey 2: Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel

Little girl responds to the animals with a touching deadpan expression and does her best to meet the animals' inexplicable demands (though she does steer clear of the narwhal).

Adam Rex's Pssst! succeeds because its structure is as innovative as the text is humorous.  It's the perfect treat for readers ages 3 to 7 (and up).   If nothing else, young readers will learn to avoid conversations with bored animals at the zoo.

Rating: *\*\*\*\

Comments

[Wizards Wireless]

Great review, Kelly! I loved this book too- and I agree, the structure is terrific.
-Susan