The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (A Meg Langslow Mystery)

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One of Donna Andrews best offerings

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (A Meg Langslow Mystery)

Laughs, Murder, and Zoo Animals

Much better effort!

Donna Andrews has done it again.

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (A Meg Langslow Mystery)
Donna Andrews
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312329423
Release Date: 2007-08-07

Book Description

Hold on to your hats, everybody!Donna Andrews is taking us on another ride into the wonderful world of Meg Langslow, a world filled with laughter as well as the knotty problems Meg always seems to encounter and---somehow---solve.Okay, maybe there are people in Antarctica with penguins in their basements, but in Virginia?Only Meg's dad could manage that one. A body down there---well, that's somewhat more likely.It turns out that explaining the penguins' presence is easy---Meg's dad volunteered to take care of the birds until the future of the bankrupt local zoo could be determined. But identifying the body in the basement proves a harder task---could it be, as Meg fears, that of the vanished zoo owner?In the small southern town of Caerphilly, rumors fly quickly, and all the other well-meaning citizens who have agreed to take in zoo animals are now worried that they might be stuck with their guests indefinitely. So when Meg's dad generously offers to help out anyone who can no longer care for their four-legged charges, a parade of wild creatures begins to make Meg and Michael's newly renovated house look more like Noah's ark.Meg and Michael have been planning to elope in order to avoid the elaborate wedding their mothers have begun to organize---a plan that's threatened by both the murder investigation and the carnival of animals. The only way to set things right, Meg decides, is to identify both their uninvited visitor and the killer who put him in their basement. The award-winning Donna Andrews has demonstrated her immense talent by creating and nurturing a series that continues to delight and surprise with each new book.

Customer Reviews:

One of Donna Andrews best offerings.......2007-09-08

I've read all of Donna Andrews books, and this one is one of her best yet. The characters are very well defined and if you have any sense of humor at all you'll love this book! I can highly recommend Donna Andrews books. If you want a good story peppered with great humor, these books are for you. The Penguin Who Knew Too Much is a scream! Enjoy!!

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (A Meg Langslow Mystery).......2007-09-06

Loved it! Have read it repeatedly, and I keep laughing at the antics of Meg's odd family and neighbors. Somehow, I begin to feel that I know them pretty well.

Thanks to Donna Andrews for another great book! I have all her others, in well-worn condition, and am looking forward to her next!

Laughs, Murder, and Zoo Animals.......2007-09-03

Meg and Michael are finally moving into their new house. All of Meg's relatives are coming to help. And in the middle of the house warming party to follow, Meg and Michael plan to slip away to elope.

Everyone is just beginning to work when Meg's dad appears, announces he found a body in the basement while digging a swimming pit for the penguins, and disappears again.

Dead body? Penguins? Unfortunately, both prove to be true.

The penguins are refugees from the local zoo which has closed temporarily due to poor financial management. And they are just the beginning of the animals that begin to show up since Meg's dad has volunteered to take care of any animals that need to be watched.

Even worse, the body turns out to be the zoo's owner. Now Meg has a few days to find the killer and solve her sudden animal problem or risk watching her carefully planned elopement fall apart. Can she do it?

The books in this series are always funny, and this book is no exception. I chuckled and laugh the entire way through. There are some great new characters that provide some of the best laughs of the book. And, of course, there are the antics of the animals as well.

The plot suffered a little at the expense of the comedy. It starts out strong and develops pretty evenly. But the ending seems rushed to me.

Frankly, fans of the series won't care. They'll be laughing so hard at the antics of animal and human alike. This is another treat from a master of humor.

Much better effort!.......2007-08-29

This is much better than her last one (No Rest for the Wicket) and it's a promising return to form for Ms Andrews.

The plot is excellent and the funny lines are back again, as well as the expected rich and colourful cast of characters.

If I have a quibble, it's that Meg's Dad has finally lost his charm and become selfishly oblivious to anything but his own interests. He's happy to abuse Meg's good nature for his own ends. Not only that - he's become stupid. Why on earth would a supposedly intelligent man dig a pond for penguins in Meg's unsuitable basement when there was already a real, outdoor pond available just across the road? The 'Virginia heat' explanation doesn't wash, since the penguins are re-located to the pond almost immediately, and Dr Langslow doesn't give a damn about the heat or the animals' welfare by then... It's a plot device, but with a little more effort there could have been any number of more logical ways to reveal the body.(Ok, it's fiction and I'm picky, but these inconsistencies do jar...)

Apart from that, I really enjoyed the strong story and hope Ms Andrews carries on raising her game. Not as good as 'Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon' but it does give me hope for the next one in the series...

Donna Andrews has done it again........2007-08-27

Once again Donna Andrews has given us a wild and wacky mystery.
This book starts off with Meg's father joyfully asking her to guess what he's found in the basement. She jokingly answers "A body?" and he replies "Oh, rats---you already knew? Well, how soon will the police get here? I need to move the penguins---we don't want them any more upset then they already are."
Meg is off and running from there. With the dubious help of family and friends Meg and Michael are moving into their renovated house, throwing an over the top house warming party and planning to elope in the middle of it all. Now Meg has to add solving the murder to her list of things to do.
Like the other books in this series, this is a well written mystery that is also highly amusing. Anyone who has read the rest of the series will be glad to attend another Hollingsworth get-together with a little murder on-the-side. For those who are new to Meg's world, get ready to enjoy the ride.

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This is my favorite picture book for little people
3 month old LOVED it
Never forget this one
Fun and Enjoyable
Zoo Keeper Sam

Sam Who Never Forgets

Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0688073352
Release Date: 1987-09-23

Book Description

Could Sam the zookeeper have forgotten to feed Elephant, the other zoo animals wonder. "Like Sam, Rice never, never forgets her audience."--School Library Journal.

Customer Reviews:

This is my favorite picture book for little people.......2005-07-22

It is so good to see this book available again. My children grew up with the colorful pictures and gentle prose of Eve Rice's tale. I think although the title is about Sam, the story is really about Elephant, who thinks he has been forgotten when Sam the Zookeeper feeds the rest of the animals. What Elephant doesn't know is that Sam has only gone off to get Elephant a special wagon full of the food Elephant loves. And isn't that what life is like? Real happy endings are not about getting what we want, but about getting Even More, often in surprising ways. I am getting this for nieces and nephews now, and will save a few copies for the I'm-hoping-for-someday grandchildren.

3 month old LOVED it.......2004-05-22

My infant son (now ten) absolutely adored this book, I guess maybe at least partly because of the bright colors. He would stare and stare and get all excited and giggly. And later he liked the story too. Not much of a story from an adult perspective, but boy oh boy does the author have a line to the hearts of the very small. I treasure our beaten and slobbered on old copy of this book like his hospital ID bracelet.

Never forget this one.......2002-06-03

This is a very cute story with a moderate amount of predictability. The most difficult word is "deliciously" which would be a challenge for first grader, but could be accomplished with some assistance. The illustrations are simple, but clearly convey meaning while not crowding the text. The relationship between text and pictures is very good - the picture matches the text so that the reader can use it to help decode words. With short pages, short sentences, and only a few trouble words, this book lends itself to being used for a Running Record in Kindergarten, first and second grade classrooms. It is a complete beginner's book that young students can read on their own that does still have a real plot. Because Sam is a zookeeper and there are lots of animals in the story, that may help to arouse interest.

Why 4 stars?:
This is a nice beginner's book for those children just learning to read. It is a nice size for little hands to hold. The text is large, but does not crowd the pictures or vice versa.

Fun and Enjoyable.......2000-10-10

Sam Who Never Forgets By: Eve Rice

Sam is a zookeeper in charge of feeding the animals. Everyday at lunchtime Sam fills him wagon with food and sets off to care for the animals. Sam never forgets to feed the Giraffe, the Monkeys and all his other friends along the way. Sam's wagon is now empty but one animal is still hungry. Could it be that Sam has forgotten the elephant? How ironic, the elephant that never forgets remembers that she is still hungry. No worries, Sam never ever forgets he is on his way with a whole wagon full of hay just for elephant.

Sam Who Never Forgets is a great book for a younger crowd the pictures correspond well with the text, which gives children a clear picture. The art is plain and simple with bright colors. There is the appropriate amount of detail for young eyes; too much detail may pull their minds away from the story. The interpretation of the pictures is executed well. Rice shows a picture directly correlated with the text on the same page. Personification is another factor of Rice's book that will gain children's attention. According to Norton "..personification will help to introduce style to children..... personification is often reinforced through the illustrations." Rice shows the personified animals through both the text and the picture. The monkeys show their gratitude for their lunch by saying, "Splendid, Sam never forgets." Their thankfulness is further enforced by the smiles on their faces and bright eyes. The same theme is continued through the book until Sam seems to have forgotten the elephant. She is sad so she is drawn with a frown and droopy eyes. Showing animals with different expression helps children to understand body language. According to Caldecott terms for criteria, Rice's book meets all the qualifications. Her artistic technique is effective and done well for the target age. The pictures follow a theme and help to clarify the setting of the story. Rice's book does not need any other forms of media to be enjoyed, accept maybe a grown-up if the little one is unable to read. Overall, the book is a definite picture book. It is comprised mostly of pictures, which are enhanced by the text.

Zoo Keeper Sam.......2000-10-08

"Sam Who Never Forgets" is an enjoyable story about a zoo keeper who is responsible for feeding the animals. The illistrations are fun, colorful and relate to the context very well. Around lunch time Sam feeds the animals. Each animal is happy to see Sam and never forgets to thank him. It is ironic that Sam seems to forget to feed the Elephant. No worries, Sam just needs a bigger wagon for all his food. This story is great for a younger audience who love animals.

Baby Touch and Feel Zoo's Who? (Baby Touch and Feel)

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My son loves this book
Perfect Touch & Feel book
Great book for a baby - Roger Priddy books are the best!

Baby Touch and Feel Zoo's Who? (Baby Touch and Feel)
Roger Priddy
Manufacturer: Priddy Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

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ASIN: 0312494319
Release Date: 2005-01-27

Book Description

Perfect for babies and toddlers.Touch and feel luxurious textures and fabrics help to develop sensory awareness.Beautiful pictures of familiar and not-so-familar animals.Features fun rhyming text that parents and children will enjoy reading together.

Customer Reviews:

My son loves this book .......2006-07-07

It is larger than other board books and pictures are great. My son prefers this one and also another Roger Priddy book, also has sound; "Bright Baby Touch, Feel and Listen: Puppy (Bright Baby)" . Boths are very good.

Perfect Touch & Feel book.......2006-02-21

This and Quack! Quack! have been among my 1-yr old's favorites for a few months now. She loves to feel the various textures, she's learning the animals, and the large format is fun for her to manipulate. The graphics are simple and colorful and hold her attention, and there's not too much on the page for her to absorb. Much better than the DK touch-n-feel books.

Great book for a baby - Roger Priddy books are the best!.......2006-01-21

I had been looking for books to hold my 8 month-old's attention. The plain old board books didn't seem to do it. Enter the Roger Priddy books! They are really different. Our 8 month-old loves this book - it's larger than many board books and has large, beautiful photos of animals. Each animal has a texture she can reach out and touch. She gets really excited when she feels the fur, etc. I also like it because the "touch and feel" area is larger than most books I've seen. She reaches out for Roger Priddy books and prefers them over her whole basket full of toys! We also have Puppy Love, and I would also recommend the cloth books. We have Squishy Turtle and Snowy Bear and Friends, and are about to order the other 2 cloth books. You can go to www.priddybooks.com to see the insides of these books (I don't see interiors on Amazon). They're just adorable and the best toy OR book purchase I've made yet.

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Perfect for encouraging an early love of poetry
A review of a sort.
A tempting menagerie
Another fun read/look

zoo's who
Douglas Florian
Manufacturer: Harcourt Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0152046399

Book Description

Climb on into Douglas Florian's latest poetry compendium, featuring twenty-one original poems and paintings about creatures from across the animal kingdom.

With sleepy sloths and portly pigs, lazy lizards and regal eagles, this creeping, leaping, sweeping collection of zoological delights is certain to have animal enthusiasts everywhere rattling their cages for more.

Customer Reviews:

Perfect for encouraging an early love of poetry.......2006-02-27

The poems in this beautifully illustrated book are perfect for children; short and silly yet well written. My 3-year old and I sit together and read the entire book, and we each have our favorite animal poem. A wonderful book- I will buy more of Florian's collections.

A review of a sort........2005-09-18

No one can accuse poet Douglas Florian of being uninterested in the public opinion of his work. Mr. Florian is one of the few relatively well-known children's writers out there who, by his own hand and without any interference on my part, was kind enough to ask me to review his book, "zoo's who" by e-mail. I, a lowly Amazon.com reviewer, was somewhat amazed to receive his request (all the more so when I noticed that it was written in brightly colored verse). I was reluctant initially, a reluctance that increased tenfold when I opened my most recent issue of School Library Journal and found that Mr. Florian had written a letter taking an SLJ reviewer to task for a) Incorrectly writing the title of his book with capital letters and b) not properly spacing the letters in his poem, "The Slugs", thereby nixing the point of the work. The fact that the review was a positive one did not stop Mr. Florian from his critique. Now I tend to write reviews of children's books with only the vaguest sense that the author may, at some time, care what I've written. I have never received an angry e-mail from someone like Carmen Agry Deedy for my review of her gawdawful, "The Yellow Star" or from Marcus Pfister for his lamentable, "Rainbow Fish". But then, I've never known for a fact that the author has or would, at some point, read what I've written. So do I shrink from my responsibilities and refuse to review this book simply because I can't write three words without wondering if they are "nice"? Do I shy away from this momentous occasion and leave the reviewing to somebody else? No sir! Onward I revieweth!

It helps that I liked the book too. Before you begin to sneer at me and say to yourself, "Well of COURSE she's not going to give the book a bad review (the coward)", I would like to note that Florian's books are of a very specific breed. They are not going to appeal to every child of every persuasion. The nine-year-old who fills their shelves with Shel Silverstein and (to a lesser extent) Jack Prelutsky is not going to immediately find a Florian unless directed to do so. Mr. Florian is, to his credit, not one of those numerous Silverstein knock-offs you stumble over in the poetry section of the library room. The man goes for grander visions. Big sweeping pictures that involve watercolor, gouache, colored pencils, inks, tin foil, candy wrappers (I'm not making this up, you know), shredded papers, stencils, rubber stamps, and (to quote the book's back page), "much collage on primed brown paper bags". The results are these ambitious animalian dreamscapes where the poems are merely half the final product. Quite frankly, I incline more towards poetry books like, "If Not For the Cat", but I can definitely see Florian's appeal.

If you've read a Florian before than you know what to expect. In this book we are treated to twenty-one poems of various wild creatures. Everything from lowly insects, to man-eating sharks, to sleepy creeping sloths have their moment in the sun here. It takes a while to get into the book, but once you do it's increasingly amusing. Not laugh-your-socks-off amusing. More mildly-chuckle-and-then-ponder-the-truth-in-the-writing amusing. Some poems are plays on words. The poem, "The Ant", consists of four panicked lines that read simply, "I wANTed to write / A poem on an ANT / I'm frANTic- / I cAN'T". I won't even repeat the lines in the poem "The Terns" except to say that it's a groaner of a pun. By the end, you find you've met a wide variety of critters in a surprising variety of ways.

To my mind, Mr. Florian is at his best when he goes for something with a little atmosphere to it. My favorite poem out of the bunch is, without question, "The Owl". On the left-hand page are sixteen yellow pairs of eyes huddled on the floor of a deep dark forest. Above them, glowing far larger are almost hypnotic peepers of a creature who proclaims, "I am the eyes / And ears of night / The say I'm wise - / I say they're right". You'll find yourself in shivers just staring at the inky blue/blackness of the picture for minutes on end. You'll also find yourself returning to it.

Will kids like this book? Doggone it if I know. I think that Mr. Florian's books work particularly well as writing exercises in schools and classrooms. The teacher reads a bunch of his poems aloud (turning and twisting the books as necessary) then encourages the kids to write their own wild kingdom prose and pictures in his style. Children do not, by and large, seek out poetry on their own unless they are looking for something silly. Nevertheless, I suspect that in many households this book will be much beloved (and certain poems favored over others) for years and years to come. A lovely offering and some unique takes.

.... and.... we're done.

A tempting menagerie.......2005-03-27

In one of his most artful surprises yet, Douglas Florian has created another delightful, spine-tingling gaggle of animals, the usual tongue-twisting, alliterative troupe: the manta ray, the penguin, the bush baby, the bats, the slugs, the terns, the wallaby and, my favorite, the sloth:

"Up a tree you slowly creep,
The twenty hours straight you sleep."

The artwork in this latest collection is superior, art-iculate and gaily colored, sure to inspire young minds with fanciful thoughts, even singing the praises of the slug:

"Slugs are ugly.
Slugs are lowly.
Slugs climb mountains
Very slowly."

These simple poems alongside such quirky critters that leap from Florian's mind offer a world of adventure, a humorous peak into the lives of creatures great and small. With consummate skill, Florian has combined whimsy with some remarkable artwork, a book sure to be beloved of children and adults alike. If you're like me, you know a few "grownups" who will appreciate the wonderful illustrations in zoo's who. Who says we have to grow up anyway?

"I wANTed to write
A poem on an ANT.
I'm frANTic-
I cANT."

Luan Gaines/2005.

Another fun read/look.......2005-03-22

Again, my son and I both got a kick out of the poems on a menagerie of beasts -- funny and clever wordplay and a cool assortment of animals, too. The poem The Ant was a big fave for us both, making my son start looking for the word "ant" in EVERYTHING. And,if the poems and pictures weren't enough, at the back of the book, there's a little paragraph about how the illustrations were made. We then had to go back through every picture to find various items that are part of the collages (and we still haven't found any candy wrappers). A lot of fun for us....

Who's who in the zoo: Descriptive stories of animal life

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Who's who in the zoo: Descriptive stories of animal life
Marjorie Barrows
Manufacturer: Reilly & Lee Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008AR8WU

Average customer rating:

Great for toddlers
Keeps my 4 year old's interest

Boy Who Loved Bananas, The
George Elliott
Manufacturer: Kids Can Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1554531195
Release Date: 2006-09-01

Book Description

Matthew laughs himself silly one day as he watches the banana-crazy monkeys at the Metro Zoo. That evening, bananas become Matthew's favourite food - and he refuses to eat anything else! Over the next two weeks, he eats so many bananas that he starts to feel funny. He itches and scratches and itches and scratches until ... KABLOOEY! Suddenly, Matthew is swinging from trees and shinnying up flagpoles! His parents try everything to stop his monkey business - doctors, veterinarians, herbalists, chiropractors, animal trainers, psychiatrists and even a psychic. But nothing seems to work. Has Matthew gone completely bananas?

Customer Reviews:

Great for toddlers.......2006-11-07

Fun story for my son. He is 4 and greatly enjoyed the story and pictures.

Keeps my 4 year old's interest.......2005-04-24

I love this book. It's colorful, has fun illustrations and the story line is cute. It really keeps my 4 year old's interest. We love the big elephant that keeps stealing people's hats. There is just the right amount of text on each page. (i.e. enough text to give him time to look at the pictures while I read but not so much text that he gets bored before we turn the page.)

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Look Who's Talking! At the Zoo
Danny Tepper
Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375831142
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Book Description

Just as fun and silly as can be, this unusual animal-sound book is sure to make kids roar with laughter. Interactive die-cut holes allow you to read along with the rhymes and move your lips to make the zoo animals hoot and holler. This hilarious novelty flap book makes animals come to life!

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Who's Who in Tony Sarg's Zoo

Manufacturer: McLouglin Bros.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HFPO7W

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Guess Who? At the Zoo
Keith Faulkner
Manufacturer: Barron''s Educational Series
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0764155555
Release Date: 2006-02-23

Book Description

Kids are challenged to guess the identity of the animals by looking at different animal houses in this charming lift-the-flap book. They'll find clues when they study the full-color illustrations on every two-page spread, then read the text—or have it read to them by Mom or Dad. The flap is a full-size gatefold page attached to each right-hand page. It shows a picture of the animal's house, but when the gatefold is lifted, the animal appears! The quizzes are rhymes that ask kids to identify a long-legged giraffe, a baby elephant, a spiky-tailed crocodile, a seal, a parrot, and a tiny little mouse. (Ages 2-5)

Whos New at the Zoo? (Janette Okes Animal Friends)

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Whos New at the Zoo? (Janette Okes Animal Friends)
Janette Oke
Manufacturer: Bethany House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764224603
Release Date: 2001-08-01

Book Description

Barnaby is the youngest gorilla in his family and the first born in Roxbury Zoo, making him a hit with zoo visitors. The sign outside his den announces that Barnaby is "Number One!" Between adventures with his brother and special attention from just about everyone, Barnaby thinks life is perfect. But when another baby gorilla arrives, Barnaby's sign is replaced with one for her. On top of that, she seems to steal his spotlight. What will make Barnaby special when he's no longer what draws the crowds?

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