Reviews for Kersplatypus
School Library Journal
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K-Gr 3-Engineered to fit tidily into the early elementary curriculum and complete with a "For Creative Minds" section of lesson plans and activities for a follow-up, this gentle tale of a lost baby platypus will find a comfortable niche in classrooms. Misled by the creature's mismatched characteristics, several Aussie critters try to fit him into their own specific lifestyles. For example, Brushtail Possum notes that the youngster has fur and claws and postulates that he belongs in a tree. Unfortunately, none of the suggested habitats is correct, leading to one disaster ("kersplat!") after another. Finally, a serendipitous discovery of aquatic skills results in a mother-and-child reunion. Gentle messages abound, and all is gas and gaiters at the finish, with the constantly jeering Blue-Tongued Skink getting his comeuppance. The softly appealing illustrations follow the simple action, with the animals sporting a couple of anthropomorphic touches (Old Bandicoot wears glasses and uses a cane, for example) but definitely adding eye appeal to this tale of a baby's trials and tribulations. Not as smoothly designed as the author's The Rainforest Grew all Around (Sylvan Dell, 2007), Kersplatypus will provide a springboard for discussions on friendship and bullying.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly
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This labored story centers on a small, furry, web-footed creature with a "scoopy duck bill" who appears on the Australian outback after heavy rains without knowing how he got there. He is a novelty to the other animals, one of whom, a blue-tongued skink, snidely comments, "You're the craziest looking thing I've ever seen.... What are you supposed to be?" While attempting to discover where he belongs-in a tree, in the air, on the ground-the lost animal repeatedly falls ("kersplat!"). An old bandicoot finally identifies him as a platypus and the skink derisively dubs him "Kersplatypus." Eventually Platypus feels drawn to the river's edge and, "before you could say `Waltzing Matilda,' " jumps into the water and "flipped and flopped and felt right at home." The bullying skink gets his comeuppance, falling on a slippery rock with a "kersplash!" Rogers's mixed-media art offers detailed renderings of Australian species, but also anthropomorphizes them: the bandicoot walks with a cane, a possum wears a flower behind her ear, etc. Back matter introduces a schoolroom flavor, with some educational activities and discussion starters ("Has anyone ever made fun of you? Did you like it? What did you do?"). Ages 3-7. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
