Ollie & Moon

February 14, 2011
In the main story line of Kredensor's debut, cartoon cat Ollie offers a surprise to his friend Moon. With mounting excitement, she asks questions and collects clues that accumulate throughout the pages. "So my surprise is... ROUND and MUSICAL, it has LOTS OF COLORS, it has FUR, HOOVES, and FEATHERS, and it's BRIGHT with LIGHTS!" (Spoiler: it's a carousel ride.) It's an oddly unfocused work; it feels like the second volume of a series whose first volume has gone missing. Kredensor's drawings of the two goggle-eyed cats are shown against Kress's photographs of Paris, where the duo lives, and French vocabulary is sprinkled throughout ("Ollie's stomach was growling, so they stopped at the fromagerie to buy some Brie"). Laughs are thrown in whether they advance the story or not; on the title page, a Paris toilet is the vehicle for some light bathroom humor, as Ollie emerges with paper stuck to his paw; elsewhere, he surprises Moon in another bathroom. It's entertainment, but not the stuff memories are made of—despite the Parisian setting. Ages 3–6.

March 1, 2011

Ollie and Moon, two energetic, wide-eyed Parisian cats, are the best of friends. Moon, always dressed in red, loves surprises, and luckily Ollie, completing the French tricolor with a blue-and-white striped French sailor shirt and beret, loves to surprise her. But as much as Moon loves receiving surprises, she loves trying to guess what they are even more. When Ollie announces that he has a new surprise for Moon, he leads the way through the streets of Paris, with occasional stops along the way offering clues. A la Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny books, color photographs of the Arc de Triomphe, the Metro, a fruit stand and other traditional Paris sights act as background to cartoon drawings in this spirited picture-book debut. Trying to quell his growling stomach, Ollie stops first at a fromagerie to buy some Brie. "My surprise is...ROUND," deduces Moon. "Yes, but that's not all it is," Ollie answers as they continue their trek. Just when Moon seems weary, Ollie knows how to cheer her up with a quick break to take funny snapshots in front of Parisian icons. Then it's back to guessing Ollie's best surprise yet, which is sure to wow young children as much as it does Moon. Bien fait. (Picture book. 3-7)

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April 1, 2011

PreS-Gr 2-Cartoon cats Ollie and Moon are good friends; Ollie likes to surprise his pal and Moon likes to guess what might be in store for her. It's with this premise, against a photographic backdrop of Paris, that the felines tour the city and ask and answer questions about the nature of Ollie's special treat. Multiple clues, a bit of deductive reasoning, and some meandering lead the friends to one of the city's beautiful carousels. The story of these goofy, expressive, and always-moving cats is evidence of Kredensor's skill and background in animation. Kress's photographs are vibrant and represent iconic images of France. Unfortunately, there is no textual reference to the setting; some notations would have helped extend the slight story line. Useful for teaching categorization and deductive reasoning, this title will circulate for the sheer fun of it.-Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2011
Friends Ollie and Moon (who look like block-headed cats) take Paris as the former tries to get the latter to guess his big surprise for her. The two cartoony characters frolic against gorgeous color photos of Paris--clearly this rather limply plotted story's true raison d'jtre. Still, Ollie and Moon's exchanges, including occasional potty humor, are droll.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)