Member Reviews
This is the third book in the Little Tails series, but the first one that I have gotten the chance to read. I really wanted to love this book because the artwork is stunning. The color palette and saturation were perfect choices to convey the feeling of an African savannah.
I didn't find Chipper or Squizzo particularly cute or funny, they were just ok. Each page focused on identifying one type of animal with an occasional fact thrown in. For example, on one page they identify black mamba, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. There are informational pages at the end that lists one fact about each animal that were interesting.
This was a cute book. Nothing super special about it but enjoyable.
This book is part of series where a puppy and a squirrel go on adventures around the world and see various animals. In this part, they went for African Safari. They saw various animals in Savannah.
It is a good way to teach kids about animals. This approach is better than normal pictorials dictionaries. .
I do enjoy the collaborations between Brremaud and Bertolucci. Their stories are typically engaging and full of detailed, eye-catching, colorful art. This is no exception. Part of their children's series, it takes readers on a fantastic journey through the African savannah while also showcasing imaginative play.
Squizzo the squirrel and Chipper the pup love to travel and go on adventures. Using their cardboard airplane, they travel to the African savannah to visit Squizzo's uncle Buzz, a flying squirrel. Along the way, they see or encounter different animals. While the plot is minimal, the artwork is fantastic. Each page has a black and white panel with Squizzo and Chipper with the animals in glorious color on the rest of the page. Some of the encounters are a little too up close and personal but no one is harmed, just spooked or scared. We learn a fact or two at each encounter as Squizzo and Chipper journey to Uncle Buzz's and the back of the book has additional facts about the animals.
"Little Tails in the Savannah" neither glorifies nor demonizes the animals but simply presents them to children in technicolor detail. Children will enjoy the artwork and the little story about the airplane ride and Uncle Buzz.
It has an original design where it mixes great illustrations of the African savannah with drawings comic-style of the trip of a pair of friends who visit it. The script of these unique friends is not very informative, rather it is entertaining for children. At the end of the book is where you can review the educational information about the animals that were encountered during their journey.
Although it seems to me that it is a book with little cultural information, I recommend it to take advantage of the illustrations and invite the children to talk about what they know about the animals in each image they see. A formidable way to consolidate knowledge at the end of a class is that children share what they remember and have understood in their own words. This book allows this exercise very well since they are not distracted reading or repeating information, and their imagination can discover interesting details in the beautiful artwork of Federico Bertolucci.
My gratitude to the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review the book
'Little Tails in the Savannah' by Frédéric Brrémaud and Federico Bertolucci follows Chipper and Squizzo on another adventure. The art of the Savannah is beautiful since this graphic novel is by the same people behind the stunning Love series featuring tigers, a fox, and dinosaurs.
Chipper and Squizzo set out on another adventure, but Squizzo's plane starts acting up, so they are on foot in the Savannah. They encounter a series of animals up close. Some are a bit too close for Chipper's taste. They see dung beetles, black mambas, a sleeping lion and many other animals. As night falls, they encounter a few night creatures too. They even find some help for getting their airplane fixed.
This is the third volume in the series. As in the previous ones, Chipper and Squizzo are presented as cartoon panels touring above the art. The art of the Savannah animals is gorgeous and full of color. I like this series for introducing younger readers to the world of animals. There is also a short bit of information at the end for the animals encountered.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Magnetic Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
This series is based on an interesting concept, of the characters travelling (by imaginary) plane to different parts of the world to see the wildlife. I love the colorful illustrations of the native wildlife, but I wish that the two plots connected better. I love the color pictures of the native wildlife but I don't find the cartoon storyline appealing. It will likely appeal to many children and possibly engage them better in discovering more about the African wildlife depicted.
Will enjoy reading with my granddaughter. She will love it as much as I did
What a cute book for kids. Chipper and Squizzo take us on a little trip to the savannah to get to know some of the animals that live there and some of their characteristics.
The art isn't all that fabulous, the two main characters are always in black in white while the rest is in colour and is more worked, for lack of a better word.
This is a very cute book for the younger ages but I don't think it really passed any real facts about the animals. I would have enjoyed this book way more if they told little trivia about the animals, like information that isn't commonly known and that would be more interesting for kids.
This being said this little book was a quick read and it was really cute. The main characters are really sweet and I really liked them.
Another thing that was really disappointing was the fact that they went there to meet someone, and when they got there they said hi and immediately left without any more conversation... Doesn't make sense to me.
I would show this book to my kids if I went to the library or something but I don't think I would have it in their personal library.
This book was absolutely adorable. Chipper and Squizzo are great characters, who guide you through the story with humor and spunk. The artwork for the animals they encounter is gorgeous and contrasts nicely with the more cartoon-ish appearance of the main characters. If you have a kid who is interested in animals, I highly recommend picking this one up for him or her.
This was so cute - and educational! The design was a bit different and I disliked it in the beginning, but it did grow on me as the story progressed: the story follows Chipper the dog and Squizzo the squirrel in a black and white sketched comic overlayed with gorgeous illustrations of animals in the wild. In the comic bits, Chipper and Squizzo introduce each animal as they traverse the savannah in search of Squizzo's uncle (and a way back home after they crashland their cardboard plane right at the beginning!) I also loved the added information on some of the animals that was included in the end pages. This was a great way to introduce children to graphic novels, and to animals!
Each page features an animal. The story takes place in comic strip style boxes. The story tells a bit about the featured animal on the page. The animal graphics are very well done and shows them in their habitat.
I really enjoyed the combination of the sketched illustrations of Chipper and Squizzo with the realistic depiction of animals and landscapes in the Savannah. Initially, I did feel myself getting pulled from the story with the main characters keeping their comic style, however, upon as the story continued and then with a reread I felt more comfortable with the format and found myself enjoying the story immensely more.
The adventure is quite simple - Chipper and Squizzy wandering through the Savannah and commenting on what they encounter along the way. Thrown in are interesting facts and amusing interactions with the local fauna. Due to the dramatic reactions of the main characters to almost everything they experience, I think this would be great to read-aloud to kids using different voices for the dynamic duo.
A really nice extra was the addition of further animal facts in the back of the book.
This is a great first introduction to the Savannah with enough information to keep the reader interested but not overwhelmed. I would definitely be happy to purchase this title and look forward to discovering others in the series.
Thank you to Netgalley for sharing this title.
As with the first, a squirrel takes a relatively dimwit dog for a trip to find out about animals. As the title tells you, this one takes place in Africa. Each page contains a three-panel comic strip with a full color painting of the animal discussed taking up most of the page.
What kind of plane gets destroyed crashing into a giraffe? A cardboard one, of course. And yes, that ball is a pile of poo. Great start. . .
Baby elephant grabbing mom’s tail=intense cuteness.
Bit of an abrupt ending; barely got to say hi to the uncle they were visiting before they were gone again in their somehow fixed air machine. Would have preferred a few more pages to make the ending better.
3.5 pushed to 4/5
Excellent interspersing of traditional cartoons with modern day graphics. The story was also incredibly intriguing. I was thrilled to learn so much about some of the most majestic and deadly savannah animals.
This is the third book in the Little Tails series. There is a puppy named Chipper and a squirrel named Squizzo that go on adventures around the world. This book, they are heading to the Savannah in Africa. They hop into a cardboard airplane and unfortunately crash land. They need to walk through the Savannah while looking for Squizzo's uncle. The main characters appear at the top of each page in a black and white comic strip of a few panels discussing where they are, what they see, and something about the animal. The pictures of the animals are full of colour and drawn more true to life. What a great technique! At the back of the book the author provides more detailed information about the animals they encountered during their trip. Some of the animals they saw included lions, cheetahs, hyenas, baboons, gnus, gazelles and more. I am looking forward to seeing what other adventures they will have in subsequent books.
I think the way this is presented will peak the interest of young readers. It can be used to introduce the topic of eco-systems, animal habitats and adaptations and more. A great book for school and class libraries.
I really enjoyed reading this book to my toddler, she loved the pictures! The tale was fun and engaging, I know feel like there is a zoo to be had from reading this book! A great family or children's librarian choice for reading to a variety of ages.
Honestly, I was hoping everything in the book would be as bright as the cover. It turned out to be fine that it wasn’t because it helped with keeping the background separate. “Little Tails in the Savannah” is a good introduction to graphic novel format and it educational, too!
Good introduction to African animals for little learners. Two animal cartoon characters fly to and from the Savannah in a cardboard airplane. During their trip, they encounter elephants, giraffes, gnus, hyenas, beetles, zebras, hippos, lions, cheetahs, and an uncle, a flying squirrel. Back matter includes photographs and facts about many of the animals thet saw on their trip. Cute fun for the pre-K set.