Children's Books
Animal Catastrophe
‘Oh, No!’ by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann
From “Oh, No!”
By PAMELA PAUL
Is it the chaos? The domino-effect procession of events? The if-it-can-happen-to-a-tiger-then-somehow-it’s-O.K.-if-it-happens-to-me?
OH, NO!
By Candace Fleming
Illustrated by Eric Rohmann
40 pp. Schwartz & Wade Books. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 6)
From “Oh, No!”
Whatever the reason, there’s something both amusing and reassuring about a pack of animals getting themselves into a mess. Whether it’s a “Tumble Bumble” or a “Zoo Ah-Choooo” or “If All the Animals Came Inside,” a story in which one animal after another barrels its way into a minor calamity and then finds its way out is endlessly appealing to young children.
This squealing enjoyment is to be found in “Oh, No!,” the first book in which Candace Fleming, the author of picture books (“Clever Jack Takes the Cake”) as well as serious nonfiction (“Amelia Lost”), collaborates with Eric Rohmann, the Caldecott Medal-winning author-illustrator of “My Friend Rabbit.” What a match!
Fleming’s text reverberates with onomatopoeia: a hapless frog tumbles into a deep pit while fleeing a tiger with a “ribbit-oops!,” and a tiny mouse attempts to assist with a worried “pippa-eeek!” Lots of rhythmic repetition makes this a winner for 3- and 4-year-olds. They’ll also enjoy Rohmann’s lush woodblock prints and beat-by-beat panels. A monkey swings from vine to vine before gleefully pointing down into the hole and then — whoops — loses his grip, the final panel on the page showing a dangling vine and a glimpse of tail plunging below.