Don't Call Me Fuzzybutt!

by Robin Newman, Susan Batori (Illustrator)

Overview

Bear is tired. The weather is getting cool and he's ready for a nice long nap—he's got earmuffs and a brand-new door to keep out the noise, plus a pair of fluffy slippers. Meanwhile, real estate mogul Woodpecker finds his recent homes…missing. And he follows the trail of debris right to Bear's new front door. When he "tap tap taps" to talk to Bear about it, the two engage in a feisty exchange of name-calling and gossip with the rest of their forest neighbors. Can they patch it up—literally—before Bear loses too much sleep?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534110731
Publisher:	Sleeping Bear Press
Publication date:	03/15/2021
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 7 Years

Editorial Reviews

2021-01-13
Neighbors Bear and Woodpecker exchange a few choice words.

“Bear needed a lot of sleep. Two hundred and forty-three and a half days to be precise. Anything less and he turned grizzly.” However, Bear is a light sleeper, so just to make sure he’s not disturbed, he hangs signs and makes a soundproof front door out of some local trees. He drifts off to sleep—but not for long. Woodpecker is aghast to find that some of the best houses he has created with his pecking are gone. The trail of debris leads to Bear’s door. Woodpecker pecks up a ruckus, and a cranky Bear calls him a “featherbutt.” The woodland gossips are a-twitter, and it gets back to Woodpecker. Woodpecker is initially angry but then begins to sniffle (while continuing to peck), which annoys Bear and leads to another angry exchange. Woodpecker calls Bear “fuzzybutt,” now hurting Bear’s feelings. After a mutual apology, the erstwhile enemies become friends, working together to make sure Bear gets his sleep and Woodpecker can create his houses some distance away. Batori’s slightly anthropomorphized illustrations of chunky forest creatures suit Newman’s tale of name-calling and reconciliation. Listeners likely won’t settle their own arguments so quickly, but they can try to follow Bear and Woodpecker’s example. And they will love the many iterations of butt. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 57.1% of actual size.)

Useful, perhaps, for conflict resolution, if not ground-breaking. (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews