What's Up, Maloo?
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Maloo the kangaroo has lost his hop. Can his friends help him find it again? This sweet picture book explores the idea of sadness and the importance of friendship through ups and downs.
No other kangeroo can hop like Maloo! But one day Maloo's friends find him stepping instead of hopping. What's wrong, Maloo? His pals look for ways to help Maloo regain the spring in his step. With patience, support and a little "hop" from his friends, Maloo gets his bounce back.
Simple text and adorable art convey the power of friendship over a gloomy mood in Geneviève Godbout's charming debut as both author and illustrator.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her solo debut, Godbout (The Pink Umbrella) presents a quiet meditation on sadness and friendship. Suited in yellow dungarees, Maloo the kangaroo hops through a flowering expanse ("One hop. Two hops. Three hops"), until the background turns arid and a cloud of discontent descends overhead ("Hop?"). Maloo's friends, an apron-clad wombat, a swimsuit-wearing crocodile, and an unclothed koala, ask him what's wrong by turns as they walk beside him ("Seven steps. Eight steps. Nine steps. Let us help you, Maloo"). Their sequential attempts at uplifting their friend with desserts, a soak, and an electric fan are in vain, until, after the fog has lingered for "one thousand steps," the pals propel Maloo aloft with a blanket. Three spreads are dedicated to Maloo alone in midair ("Hop!") as the cloud dispels and Maloo resumes jumping through a floral scene, this time joined by pals on pogo sticks. Rendered in gentle pastel and colored pencil, Godbout's expressive illustrations offer a meaningful visual expression of depression and of supporting friends in a slump, leaving plenty of room for adults to expound on the spare text. Ages 3 7.
