Synopses & Reviews
Successful talk show host, singer, songwriter, actress, and author Kathie Lee Gifford has come up with a delightful book for children! Lucy Goosy is carefully reviewing her list of animals to invite for her birthday party. She has to make sure to invite the right guests so that her party will be perfect. But when she focuses on everyones bad qualities, instead of good, she discovers that there is no one to attend! With a little help from the Wise Owl, Lucy Goosy discovers it is our special characteristics that make us unique. Written in adorable sing-song rhyme, Kathie Lee Giffords new picture book for children teaches us that we are all special because we are different!
This endearing book comes with a CD, where the accompanying song Party Animals” is performed by the author so kids can read and sing along with the music.
Review
"Phelan takes Park's jaunty story about a panda with a complicated social life and develops it still further. . . . There's food for thought throughout."
and#8212;Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The upbeat, mostly rhyming text provides a surprising amount of information about animal families and species without tripping up the pace. . . . Perfect for young animal lovers and a great read-aloud for storytime."
and#8212;School Library Journal, starred review
"Liberal use of internal rhyme. . . makes Park's text sing as it relates how Xander tackles each new challenge."
and#8212;The Horn Book Magazine, starred review
"Phelan's ink and watercolor compositions offer the perfect counterpoint to the tightly wrought verses, with playfulness inherent in the fluid inky outlines encasing broadly applied brushstrokes."
and#8212;Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
"Newbery Medalist Park's playful rhyming text introduces young kids to different species of animals. . . Share this story about the importance of inclusion with birthday kids and those fond of a trip to the zoo."
and#8212;Booklist
Synopsis
New Picture Book from Today Show Host and New York Times Best Selling Author Kathie Lee Gifford!
Synopsis
Party with a pandaand#8212;and all creatures tall and smalland#8212;in Newbery Medal author Linda Sue Park and brilliant illustrator Matt Phelan's endearing new picture book.
Synopsis
Xander planned a panda party. Yes, a dandy whoop-de-do!But Xander was the only panda. Just one panda at the zoo.
The zooand#8217;s paucity of pandas doesnand#8217;t impede Xanderand#8217;s party planning for long. He decides to invite all the bears. But Koala protests. Sheand#8217;s not a bearand#8212;she's a marsupial! Does that mean she canand#8217;t come? Xander rethinks his decision to invite only bears, and and#8220;Calling all bearsand#8221; evolves into and#8220;Calling all creatures.and#8221; The Newbery Medal author Linda Sue Park introduces animal taxonomy in a wonderfully engaging way, and the celebrated artist Matt Phelanand#8217;s charming ink and watercolor paintings are the icing on the cake. A read-aloud whoop-de-do!
About the Author
Kathie Lee Gifford is noted for her 15-year run (1985-2000) on the talk show
Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. She has received 11 Emmy nominations. In 2008, Gifford started co-hosting the fourth hour of NBC's
Today Show. Her most recent book,
Just When I Thought I Dropped My Last Egg, debuted at #8 on the
New York Times best seller list. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children.
Peter Bay Alexandersen trained at Designskolen Kolding, Denmark's leading design institution. On completion of his studies he went on to work as a toy designer at Lego. He then worked as an illustrator for a number of Danish publishing houses and has continued to the present day. He now lives in Copenhagen with his designer wife, Janne Wendt and their four sons.