Emily Goes Wild
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Madame DuBois's monkey is going wild. Instead of happily shopping in New Orleans, eating beignets at the Cafe du Monde, painting pictures with Mme., and making small mischief once in a while, Emily is being very naughty. When a frantic phone call to the vet helps Mme. realize that her pet is missing interaction with other monkeys, her owner sadly donates her to the Audubon Zoo. Second thoughts send Mme. to retrieve Emily, but a wise curator helps find a perfect solution for both owner and animal. This oversized book is illustrated with colorful cartoon illustrations, which contain scattered French words and labels, and seem a trifle too busy. The story is overlong and ends rather abruptly. The format irritates a little with two foldout pages-one sideways and one up and down-which would be difficult to handle in a storytime, plus a text that changes fonts, dips, and circles in a light print that is sometimes hard to read. However, children will probably enjoy Emily's antics and learn a lesson about keeping wild animals as pets.Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.