Maude The Not-So-Noticeable Shrimpton
PreS-Gr 2–The flamboyant Shrimptons hate being overlooked, but that's what usually happens to Maude, the only not-so-noticeable family member. Her mother's extravagant hats and her father's long, twisty mustache garner lots of attention. Her exceedingly beautiful and mesmerizingly talented siblings are always noticed. Having asked for a goldfish for her birthday, Maude is dismayed to discover that her request is deemed too mundane, and she is given a tiger instead. Maude is alone in her embarrassment at being seen out with a tiger in tow. The rest of the family relishes the stares they get from passersby. The thing about tigers, though, is that they have a pretty ferocious appetite, and when the Shrimptons run out of tiger food, their efforts to suddenly become inconspicuous aren't very successful. Maude discovers that she may have the most valuable asset in the family after all. This cautionary tale is full of humor (if slightly dark at times) and would greatly enhance a language-arts lesson on descriptive writing. The clever, full-color, full-bleed illustrations incorporate a variety of highly noticeable patterns and text fonts. Maude blends into them well, and discovering where she is in any given picture adds to the fun of the book.–Sara-Jo Lupo Sites, George F. Johnson Memorial Library, Endicott, NYα(c) Copyright 2013.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.