| Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator! |
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What You Need to Know:
• Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator! is another home run of a book for Mo Willems.
• The story of these two friends is sweet and entertaining.
• Willems' sly and witty side is fully on display here, kids (and adults) will be giggling throughout the story. |
Sweet Book Summary:
Mo Willems' work NEVER disappoints. Meet two entirely new characters, Amanda and her Alligator, best friends who love to surprise each other. Alligator and Amanda have a lovely friendship. The story follows a typical day in the life of these two friends. Alligator puts on his thinking cap to think of new surprises for Amanda and Amanda rushes home to surprise Alligator with new books. But Alligator does a lot of waiting for Amanda while she is out, and he isn't very good at waiting. One day Amanda returns from the zoo with a present from her Grandpa, a stuffed panda! He was way too cute and fluffy and Alligator was not happy with this surprise. But then something surprising happened. The two stuffed friends realized that neither was very good at waiting alone, but together they could have loads of fun.
This story is deceptively simple, providing young children with a really nice model of friendship. My favorite scene is when Alligator realizes he has a price tag on his tail and is thrilled to find out how much he is worth. Imagine his disappointment when he finds out he was in the sale bin and only worth 7 cents; nobody wanted him. Amanda saves the day by explaining to Alligator, "No one wanted to buy you because they knew you were meant to be my best friend."
Willems books are always so original and full of great energy, and he certainly has done it again with Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator! Even the format of this picture book is unique. It is split into 6 1/2 short stories, helping get little ones ready for chapters. Every age will find something of value in this lovely story. As always, Willems' drawings are particularly appealing. What Willems can do with one line on the eyebrow is nothing short of amazing. Just adding the one line to the eyes, makes his little character show so much emotion. Brilliant! |
Author: Mo Willems Illustrator: Mo Willems Published: 2011, 72 pages
Themes: Excellent Read-Aloud, Exquisite Illustrations, Humor, Animals, Friendship, Adoption |
Sweet Discussion Questions:
• Do you have a best friend?
• What is your favorite way to surprise your friends?
• What do you do if you are bored?
• Do you have to wait for things a lot of the time? How do you make the time go faster?
• Do you have any imaginary friends? If yes, what is your friend like?
• Why do you think someone would have an imaginary friend? |
| This recommendation was written by: Melissa Y. |
| Support Independent Book Shops: Click Here to Buy this Book on IndieBound |
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