Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Gilbert and his sister accidentally switch costumes for their school's Halloween parade. "This cross-dressing caper gets primary-grade humor just right," said PW. Ages 5-up. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal
K-Gr 2-Having packed his Martian Space Pilot costume in his bag, Gilbert, the hedgehog introduced in Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink (Morrow, 1996), trots off to school for a holiday parade and party. Imagine his dismay when he discovers that he has taken his sister Lola's sack and her pink ballerina outfit by mistake. As five of his classmates also decided to be Martian Space Pilots, it's not an unmitigated disaster-so he squeezes into the tutu and toughs it out, encountering surprise but not a trace of derision from his peers. Well, it could happen. De Groat moves her human-proportioned animal cast between a comfortable suburban neighborhood dotted with colorful autumn leaves and a school restroom where the boys change clothes. However skeptical they may be of the mild reaction to Gilbert's costume, young viewers will enjoy the glimpses of loudly colored underwear (plus, for many girls, exotic bathroom plumbing). Despite severely undersized tights, Gilbert isn't made to look all that ludicrous or uncomfortable. Although Lola reclaims her costume for the evening's trick-or-treating, she and her brother at least tinker with gender stereotypes, and that may plant seeds in some readers' minds.-John Peters, New York Public Library
Marilyn Bousquin
Nothing could be worse than the fact that nearly everyone in Mrs. Byrd's class has chosen to dress as a Martian Space Pilot -- Gilbert's own beloved costume -- for the school Halloween parade. Until, that is, it comes time to change and Gilbert discovers that he has grabbed the brown paper bag containing his sister Lola's pink ballerina costume instead of his own. Desperate not to get in trouble for not having a costume (Mrs. Byrd has 'already scolded him once today'), Gilbert squeezes into Lola's tutu, pulls the paper bag over his head, and sets out to switch costumes with Lola. But when Gilbert and Lola stumble into Mrs. Byrd's class party before they have had a chance to make the exchange, Gilbert breaks into an impromptu twirl and takes full credit for not having 'the same costume as everyone else.' De Groat's portrayals of Gilbert (the porcupine who starred in Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink) and his classmates (a variety of other animals) are relaxed and uninhibited, and her orange and yellow hues evoke the muted brilliance of the season. The magic of Halloween is turned on full force in this neighborhood where kids walk themselves to school and the crossing guard dresses up for the holiday. Even though the story is somewhat contrived (Gilbert does not even begin to look inside his costume sack until all the other boys are dressed and out of the bathroom), Gilbert's good-natured blunderings make for a kid-appealing Halloween treat. -- --Horn Book
From the Publisher
"This caper gets primary-grade humor just right." — "Publishers Weekly "A kid-appealing Halloween treat."— "The Horn Book"
