Customer Reviews

Look Both Ways: A Cautionary Tale

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As parents how often have we reminded our children "to look both ways"? That caution is so frequently repeated that young ones probably tend to tune it out (along with much other sage parental advice, I'm sure). Nonetheless, this important habit is presented in such a fun, colorful manner in "Look Both Ways" that young ones may very well remember it.

Filbert, a young squirrel, is out playing soccer on a cool, crisp fall day when the soccer ball slides into the street. Running to retrieve it, Filbert is having far too much fun to look both ways.

His mother is at home in an old oak tree making acorn soup. She realizes that she doesn't have enough acorns so she asks Filbert to run to Granny's house and bring some back. She tells him to hurry, but also to be sure and look both ways.

Well, Filbert is such a jolly little rascal and so thoroughly enjoys everything he does that he forgets to look both ways when he crosses the street. On his way home with the acorns he's eager to return to his soccer game so he doesn't look for the cat who suddenly clamps a paw on his tail. Once he escapes from the cat he totally ignores a Stop sign on the next street corner and scurries out into traffic.

What happens to Filbert next is a good lesson for all children who are in too much of a hurry to observe safety rules. (Don't worry, it all ends well so youngsters will not be frightened - they'll just smile at Filbert's antics and hopefully learn a valuable lesson).

- Gail Cooke

Filbert the squirrel loves to play soccer with his friends, and he likes to run around the neighborhood on errands, too. In fact, he's having so much fun he forgets to look both ways when dashing across the street. Rollicking rhymes and fun drawings liven up and lighten up this "cautionary tale".

I liked Filbert, the main character. But I'm concerned that little children might interpret the story differently than what the author intended and think it's OK if they don't look both ways because cars will always be able to look out for them even though they're not crossing in a safe manner. For example, in one of the illustrations, Filbert is darting in traffic all around him without crossing safely yet manages to get across the street. I'm a teacher and I wouldn't want my kids to read this book for this reason.