I’m on It! by Andrea Tsurumi

Abstract

Reviewed by: I’m on It! by Andrea Tsurumi Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Tsurumi, Andrea I’m on It!; written and illus. by Andrea Tsurumi. Disney Hyperion, 2021 [64p] (Elephant & Piggie Like Reading!) Trade ed. ISBN 9781368066969 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. K-1 When Goat leaps atop a tree stump (“I’m ON it!”), Frog matches the feat by balancing on a rock (“I’m on it, too!”), and the game is on. Goat grabs a tire and is now on the stump and beside the tire; Toad procures a pail, and now is on the rock and beside the pail. Soon Goat is balancing under umbrellas, between flower pots, above a ladder, through a hose, and Frog . . . well, Frog’s a bit of a mess, weighed down by laundry basket, a xylophone, rain boots, etc., until finally the amphibian is “OVER it.” The latest in the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading series, this holds true to the color-coded word bubbles and frenetic energy characteristic of Willems and the series, but this one has a bit more bite to it, with Goat and Frog echoing P. D. Eastman’s canine pair, happy-go-lucky Ted and bumbling, not-so-fortunate Fred, in their slightly competitive friendship. The directional and relational concepts here will likely already be familiar to beginning readers, but Goat and Frog’s antics make a humorous refresher, and even older readers will giggle at the increasing absurdity of the balancing act. Fans of goofy pal pairings will appreciate these new amusing buddies. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois