Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1348232 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 24 pages

From Publishers Weekly
A spunky preschooler proves she's learned an important life lesson: it's who you know that counts. "I know a Rhino/ We like to take tea," she informs readers, as the huge horned beast daintily pours out a pot and a tiny stool collapses beneath his weight. "I have two sugars/ and Rhino has three." The seven other animals making up her unusual circle include an illness-prone dragon and a leopard with a penchant for formal wear. What's more, as the narrator reveals in the final page, the members of this motley menagerie aren't mere acquaintances; all of them "live with me!" (as beloved stuffed toys that the girl snuggles with as she sleeps). While not quite up to the unfettered goofiness of his Sometimes I Like to Curl Up Like a Ball, Fuge still conveys humor and good cheer with full-bleed spreads that capitalize on the animals' various attributes (one turns vertical when the girl introduces a bubble-bath loving giraffe). He furnishes the stage-like scenes with minimal bright, monochromatic backdrops, keeping the focus on the animal guests' often overwhelming size and elaborate texture. Rhino's portrait, for example, emphasizes the folds of ample flesh that hang over its ribs. Preschoolers will delight in the zoologically incorrect situations put forth by the pert heroine. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-A happy preschooler certainly knows how to fill up her day with fun and friends. She hosts a rhino for tea, has mud fights with a pig, dances with an ape, takes care of a dragon with a cold, and bathes with a giraffe. Fuge's bright, warmhearted and silly illustrations fill each spread, with the lovable creatures taking center stage along with the endearing protagonist. The playful, rhythmic text and bold pictures make this a surefire storytime hit. When readers discover that these imaginary playmates are really stuffed-animal friends, the magic is brought home in a comforting, loving bedtime scene.
Shelley B. Sutherland, Niles Public Library District, IL
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
PreS. This vivid rhyming picture book captures a child at imaginary play. It begins: "I know a rhino. / We like to take tea. / I have two sugars / and rhino has three," and the lovely picture shows a gigantic rhinoceros sharing a child-size table and chairs with a little girl. He has his legs crossed, and he pours the tea with perfect manners for a perfect tea party. The text continues in the same vein as the little girl plays in the mud with a pig, dances with an orangutan, twirls with a hippo, acts as vet for a sick dragon, bathes with a giraffe, picnics with a bear, and plays dress-up with a leopard. The scenarios are all bright fun, and the ending is particularly satisfying as the child curls up in bed with her toy animal friends. This will be a nice read-aloud for young children; the large print and easy poetry will also entice brand-new readers to try the pages on their own. Kathy Broderick
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Boisterous, Sweet, and Instantly Engaging
This story of a little girl and her boisterous, friendly, semi-imaginary wild pets was an instant favorite with my 21-month old daughter. The copy is perfect: it rhymes, it goes with the pictures, and there's isn't very much of it, so for once the story proceeds at the right brisk pace for little page turners. And the pictures of the impish girl and the things she does with the animals are very engaging. The rhino drinks tea, the pig has mud fights, and the dragon needs looking after when he has a cold. We both had this one memorized in less than a day. I can tell it will join "Gorilla" "Moon" and our other favorites on the frequently read list.

Great for Bedtime
Have you ever sipped tea with a rhino, sang songs with an ape, or treated a dragon for a cold? Well, Charles Fuge has a story for you called "I Know a Rhino" which invites you into a loveable animal adventure that will make your imagination run wild like the girl in the story. All while just being at home a girl has lots of fun with eight different animals which are all her friends and at the end of the book you will see why. The text is told in first person and printed in a thick black ink that really stands out against the bright pages. Each double spread page is devoted to one animal which gives the girl different emotions that are vivid in the watercolor paintings. The impressionistic art accurately portrays the size difference between the girl and each animal; he even makes you turn the book vertically to show the height of the giraffe. The balance between the text and illustrations is unparalleled and makes this a picture book that will want to be read over and over again. This is the ultimate animal fantasy for every preschooler to realize that in their imaginative world they can do anything even if they are stuck at home.

A must have for any children's book collection
This delightful, sweet, and incredibly illustrated book is our favorite. After a trip to the zoo we brought it home for our 3 and 1 year old to enjoy. The illustrations have amazing detail and capture such emotion. The rhymes are very cute and catchy. Our 1 year old squeals with excitement every time she finds it and she will sit and flip through the pages over and over and over. We love it!