If All the Animals Came Inside

by Eric Pinder, Marc Brown (Illustrator), Marc Brown (Read by)

Overview

The walls would tremble. The dishes would break.
Oh, what a terrible mess we would make!

If all the animals came inside, bears would run down the stairs, kangaroos would bounce on the couch, and hippos would play hide-and-seek through the halls! Join one family's wild romp as animals of all shapes and sizes burst through the front door and make themselves right at home.

Extraordinary collage artwork from beloved illustrator Marc Brown (Arthur series) pairs with Eric Pinder's hilarious rhyming verse to make this the perfect book to read aloud again and again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316210065
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/17/2012
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
Lexile:	AD520L (what's this?)
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Marc Brown is the creator of the bestselling Arthur Adventure book series and creative producer of the number-one children's PBS television series, Arthur. He has also illustrated many other books for children, including Wild About Books and Dancing Feet!. Marc lives with his family in Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard.

Eric Pinder is the author of the non-fiction picture book Cat in the Clouds, published by The History Press in May 2009. He has also written a number of books for adults, and has been published in national magazines, including Slate and Newsday. Eric teaches at Chester College of New England and has an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Editorial Reviews

Brown's first venture into collage has a carload of enthusiasm behind it, along with this seasoned artist's knack for communicating directly with children via humor. The story, told in nicely turned, high-energy verse, is a child's fantasy of what might happen if a horde of animals were to move in. It's a farcical, made-for-slapstick premise…
—The New York Times Book Review

Leonard S. Marcus

A young boy imagines the riot that would ensue if his house were overrun with wild animals. "The lions would roar as they sprawled on the floor. / The lemurs would lollygag right by the door. / My daddy would try to sit down in his chair. / He'd holler and whoop with a porcupine there!" The hodgepodge of animals ranges from forest chipmunks and savanna giraffes to Australian kangaroos and even an octopus. And they all come with mischief in mind. Pinder neatly describes the chaos that this bunch could cause. From ruining the furniture and eating all the food to taking up the comfiest places, they would eventually leave no room for the boy and his family, relegating them to sleeping outside. And in fact, the boy wisely decides in the end that, as much fun as all the animals might be, he will be satisfied with just his cat and dog. The rhyming verses have a nice rhythm, and a repeated refrain allows listeners to join in. Brown uses a similar style to his illustrations in Lindsay Craig's Farmyard Beat and Dancing Feet (2011, 2010), but the corrugated-looking collages that incorporate photographic elements are not as successful here. The details tend to get lost in all the texture. Still, the animal antics are priceless, and the boy's transformation from joyful participant to disgruntled observer is easy to see. All the fun of imagination without the mess of reality. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews