Not Yet Zebra

by Lou Kuenzler, Julia Woolf (Illustrator)

Overview

An alphabet book with a difference! Annie wants to paint an alphabet using her animals, but Zebra simply can't wait until the end for his time to shine. Sneakiness, silly costumes and plain pushiness doesn't get him anywhere - but he has to learn to wait his turn! This zany picture book is so much more than an alphabet book - it introduces manners and patience to the littlest readers in a gentle and fun way. Lou Kuenzler's text and Julia Woolf 's illustrations brilliantly combine with hilarious effect, and bring the alphabet to life in a totally new and inventive way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780571342884
Publisher:	Faber and Faber
Publication date:	06/26/2018
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 5 Years

About the Author

Lou Kuenzler grew up on a windy sheep farm in Devon. She is the author of numerous books for children, including My Digger is Bigger, Eat Your People , the Shrinking Violet series, the Princess DisGrace series and the Bella Broomstick series. She lives in London with her family. Julia Woolf worked for twenty years in animation, including a twelve year period working in the US for Dreamworks. After returning to the UK she decided to do the MA in Children’s Book Illustration in Cambridge at Anglia Ruskin University. She is the author/illustrator of Giraffe on a Bicycle and various board books. She lives in Kent.

Read an Excerpt

Annie said to the animals, “Please stand in a line. I’m painting my alphabet. Come one at a time! First Aardvark and Bear and Crocodile too. Not yet, Zebra. I’m not ready for you..."

Editorial Reviews

2018-04-25
As animals queue up alphabetically to have their portraits painted, pesky Zebra keeps trying to jump the line.In exuberantly spattered watercolors, Annie, a small, redheaded white girl with an easel, invites Aardvark, Bear, and the other animals forward one at a time for broadly brushed pictures with upper- and lowercase letters (all assembled in a closing gallery on the rear endpapers). Along the way she gently but repeatedly has to push importunate Zebra to the back: "I need Gorilla and Hamster and… / What did I say? / Not yet, Zebra. Please go away!" Zebra (not unlike Mo Willems' Pigeon, though nonverbal) turns out to be hard to discourage, but sad looks, disguises, and pushy behavior all turn out to be equally fruitless. And, when Zebra's turn finally, finally comes, he's nowhere to be found—having, no surprise, fallen asleep in bed. Like the young artist, budding abecedarians will be amused. There are few surprises in the lineup of animals, but the mix is a lively one, and even the animals who are observing proper order have plenty of personality on offer.A cheery run through the ABCs, with a bit of a message about lining up and awaiting one's turn slipped in. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews