Ah Ha!

PreS-Gr 1—This nearly wordless book follows the format of Mack's Good News, Bad News (Chronicle, 2012). The text, though, is pared down to just word balloons of "AH HA!" and "AAHH!" with one "HA HA!" thrown in for good measure. Each character gets its own color for the word balloons (frog-purple, flamingo-blue, boy-yellow, etc.). The story follows the adventures of a frog who is caught in a jar by a boy and his dog ("AH HA!"). Don't worry, he escapes ("AAHH!") but lands on the back of a hungry turtle ("AH HA!") from whom he leaps away to escape being eaten ("AAHH!"), only to find himself on the back of an even hungrier crocodile ("AH HA!"). And so it goes from croc to flamingo leg and then back into the jar to the final escape ("AH HA!"). The artwork expertly captures all the action, and the animals' expressions are priceless. From happiness, pleasure, and joy to fear, anger, and smugness, Mack nails them all. The book would be great fun to read aloud, using varying tones and inflections. Pair it with Remy Charlip's Fortunately (S & S, 1961), Michael Foreman's Fortunately, Unfortunately (Andersen, 2011), and, of course, Good News, Bad News for storytimes exploring the good and the bad in as few words as possible.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH