Ollie Knows Everything

PreSchool-Grade 1-Ollie seems to know absolutely everything. He can fasten the seat belt on the airplane when the family takes a trip to New York City. He reads long words like "hamburger" from the menu, and even knows all about Ellis Island. His younger brother, Herbert, becomes quite discouraged with Ollie's store of knowledge, and wonders if he will ever be as smart. Story-line excitement builds as the older rabbit becomes lost on a crowded subway train, and a frantic family search begins. The fright turns to joy and relief when they find Ollie in the hotel lobby, and Herbert thoroughly agrees with Mother that, "'It's so good to have Ollie back.'" The energetic watercolor cartoons deftly capture all of the emotion and action. They are eye-catching, with pen-and-ink crosshatching lending detail and an infectuous, witty charm to each page. This is an entertaining choice for individual reading, or to use with a small audience. Many youngsters can (and will) empathize with Herbert's "big brother" syndrome.
Mary Lou Budd, Milford South Elementary School, OH
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 3-7. When the O'Hares go on a trip to New York, Herbert's big brother, Ollie, knows everything, just like he does at home. Herbert hates always being the foolish younger one. At the airport, in the hotel, on Ellis Island, Ollie is confident and capable and crushing--until the day he gets lost on the subway. Munsinger's illustrations are warm and funny. As in her pictures for William Cole's A Zooful of Animals (1992), she knows how to make animal characters express human emotions. The O'Hares are rabbits, but their faces and body language reveal the exaggerated feelings of sibling rivalry: the smug older brother, the crestfallen younger one. Children will also recognize what it's like to be stuck in a crowded subway train between what seems like an elephant and a giraffe. And there's a wonderful view of the Statue of Liberty as a matronly rabbit. The playful puns in word and picture add to the fun of this wry family adventure. Hazel Rochman