Penelope and the Humongous Burp. Sheri Radford. Illustrated by Christine Tripp. Montreal, PQ: Lobster Press, 2004. 32 pp., cloth, $21.95. ISBN 1-894222-83-0. Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 2-7. Review by Pat Fay. ** /4

excerpt:

Penelope was very thirsty, so she drank three huge glasses of grape soda in spite of her mother's warning not to drink too much. Soon, Penelope and her Mom and Dad heard a strange noise and then suddenly, she had a burp.

The walls and floor shook with the force of Penelope's big burp. Bits of plaster fell from the ceiling, and one bit landed right in Penelope's mother's cup of coffee.

Two doctors burst through the kitchen door. "We heard an awful noise and thought that there must be a big emergency going on," they said as they started checking everyone's reflexes with little wooden mallets.

"That was just my daughter and her big burp," Penelope's mother said. "We're quite all right now."

Two doctors stopped to stare at Penelope.

"Well, Penelope, what do you have to say for yourself?" Penelope's father asked.

"Glurble glooble."

Penelope was told not to drink too much grape soda, but after three glasses, she and her parents hear a funny noise which seems to be coming from her stomach. She feels like she is about to explode, and then she has a humongous burp. Two doctors hear the noise and think there must be a big emergency so they rush in to help.

     The next burp brings four firefighters who try to help with the emergency. Her father asks again, "What do you have to say for yourself?" Once again, she burps and this time six police officers arrive. The next time she is asked, "What do you have to say for yourself?" she answers, "Excuse me."

     The exaggerated chaos and the entrance of two doctors, then four firefighters and finally, six police officers are reminiscent of a Robert Munsch story. The illustrations fit very well with the text and are silly enough to keep the readers laughing along with the story. The dog that is pictured on almost every page nearly steals the show, especially on the page where he hides his head with his paws.

Recommended.

Pat Fay is a teacher-librarian at Beaumont School in Charleswood, MB. Her dogs were famous for enormous, gurgle-y burps after drinking!

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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