ONE COOL FRIEND

This audiobook needs the complement of the print version for real success. The talented illustrator, David Small, has created pictures that carefully complete Toni Buzzeo’s clever story about young, proper Elliot. Elliot seems out of sync with his unaware, preoccupied father. His father is so clueless that he allows his son to bring a penguin home from Family Fun Day at the aquarium. The pictures give visual clues about the truth of the situation and, even more importantly, provide a superb surprise ending. Families who have the visuals will find Chris Sorensen’s reading a great enhancement. His sense of timing allows children to enjoy the humor of the characters’ strange personality clashes, as well as the silliness and irony in the story. S.W. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2012]