The Trash Pandas are finally speaking out! The raccoons rhymingly and menacingly tell the humans to worry because they are coming. And indeed they are! As revenge for diminishing their habitats, the raccoons are taking their place in the human world because, as they remind the reader, they were here first. Delightful illustrations and a catchy text make this a rollicking fun read.

I didn't like this one as well as I'd hoped. I liked the scribbly style of the illustrations and the sense of mischief inherent in a story about raccoons. And I found the messaging a bit heavy handed even for a picture book.

Revenge of the Racoons is a hilarious picture book depicting the hi-jinx of the trash panda. This colorful and hilarious book will give children a glimpse into the nocturnal lives of racoons. The illustrations are packed full of emotion and make the text come alive.

Delightful! Vibrant, eye-popping art rattles the brain — like viewing the world from inside the head of one of these crazy raccoons.

Great fun! Recommended.

#NetGalley, #RevengeOfTheRaccoons, #OwlkidsBooks
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of the book.

What a fantastically funny picture book about raccoons! My daughter laughed so hard. I loved the sing-song rhyme of the story. The theme of this book was beautifully done with humor that we invaded the raccoons' habitat so they are sharing our space.

The illustrations were bright and exceptional.

Highly recommend.

I love raccoons so so much and this book was great! I will definitely be buying it for my future kids.

This book is a good match for those who love raccoons, but with playful rhymes that are designed to appeal to the preschool or kindergarten student. I'm not 100% sure that the target audience would be as into this book as a teen or adult that has an interest in raccoons would be, though. It may depend on your classroom / library audience. It's also less educational and more silly, such as when raccoons are flying.

I absolutely loved this. The illustrations are bright, colorful, and sunshiny. The book has an easy to say cadence that rhymes well, and altogether works. The raccoons are the narrator saying you the reader are why they wonder homes. They come to take out donuts and check out trees and scare cats. The reason they do this is because we destroyed their real homes. We log their forests and paved their grass and now they have no other place to go but our trash cans and our yard. This book is both fun but also a reminder that the animals had a home while we may think they’re a nuisance, they are just trying to live in their new environment. Kids will get and understand this message and help spread it around. This is a fun way to be reminded that the actions we take have consequences.

Revenge of the Raccoons
by Vivek Shraya
Pub Date: October 18, 2022
Owlkids

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I am a little afraid of raccoons, they freak me out so this is a marvelous Halloween tale. Revenge of the Raccoons is both a riotous tale of an underdog uprising and a clever commentary on humans’ sense of ownership over the cities we live in. Playful rhyming text and vibrant illustrations inspired by classic horror movie posters bring the raccoons’ antics to life.

As the raccoons frolic into the night, readers will enjoy cheering on the creative and cunning antiheroes, and maybe even reconsider who rules the city.
4 stars

What worked for me:

1.). The art is fantastic. It's lively, colorful, and inclusive. Kids will love spotting all the details.
2.). The rhyming structure and repeated refrain work and the word choices are expressive.
3.). I appreciated the message that humans are the ones that have encroached on nature, forcing animals to adapt.

What didn't quite work:

Maybe in an attempt at hyperbole, the text goes too far in making raccoons seem scary and destructive. It paints them as terrifying chaos devils and doesn't really point out any good they do in their environment. Very small children might wind up actually being frightened of them and even older kids won't develop much sympathy or appreciation for them. This is troubling.

I wouldn't necessarily discourage a kid who picked this up, but I would want to read it with them to help put it in context. I probably wouldn't introduce it on my own.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Raccoons freak me out so I think they are the perfect characters for a scary book. A great Halloween story for the entire family.

The raccoons tell this funny, rhyming story about the havoc they cause for humans. The book is full of vibrant illustrations depicting the raccoons' "revenge". The repetition, the raccoons' antics, and the vivid illustrations that look like something out of an old horror movie are a delight.

The book makes raccoons look like the ultimate rebels. The story is easy for young children to remember. Our kids had fun reading the words in their best spooky voice. I liked that they included information about how humans took over their habitat.

I received an electronic ARC from Owlkids Books through NetGalley.
Humorous rhyming text about the raccoons taking over. Readers move with them as they move in and around humans. The illustrations capture both the raccoon and human reactions as raccoons take over homes and landmarks. Younger readers will be speaking the repetitive portion along with the reader in a group setting. I appreciate the twist at the end when Shraya points out who was living there first.

This was such a cute book! I liked the rhyming aspect of it and I liked that they threw in there about how people built houses in the racoon's habitat. The artwork was adorable and I loved the fun colors throughout the book. I would definitely recommend this kids book.

This is absolutely brilliant. Tackling environmental issues and wildlife conservation by utilizing a creature feature horror movie tinged premise is so clever! The illustrations in this are so vivid, colorful, neon tinged, and cheeky. I am head over heels for these clever little critters. Having battled one myself late last summer whilst wrangling feral kittens made this all the more fun and silly, because it’s quite accurate to their chaotic little exploits. It’s got great refrains that will delight readers of all ages with interactive reading! And it really does drive the message home that we humans must be more cautious and empathetic to other life around us. I absolutely adored this book and it’s a fantastic writer and illustrator duo! I hope there are more books by this pair to enjoy!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Rebellious raccoons on the loose. Cute book with excellent rhyming.

A Cute picture book about raccoons getting their revenges. I loved it. And I think kids will. I'm just not so sure their parents will.

Adorable rhyming book about everyone’s favourite trash pandas! I was doubly happy to see the Toronto setting. Super fun!

My stepson is a huge fan of mildly spooky and silly stories. Revenge of the Raccoons by Vivek Shraya did not disappoint us at all, and quite a few pages made us laugh out loud.

With fun illustrations, this fun alliterative read is great for younger readers and their parents alike.