Customer Reviews

Zoe and Her Zebra (A Barefoot Board Book)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Without question, Clare Beaton's appliqué illustrations are gorgeous, and it's great that the text emphasizes diversity, but stick to her other books, like _How Big Is a Pig?_ or _One Moose, Twenty Mice,_ which are excellent and in the same visual style as _Zoe and Her Zebra._ This book is likely to frighten younger kids, with its depictions of frightened- and unhappy-looking children being chased by snarling animals.

I don't understand what Beaton and Barefoot Books were thinking with this book; what exactly is the point of using scary pictures to introduce the alphabet?? No doubt some people will point to Grimm's fairy tales and the like, to demonstrate that fear has a place in children's literature (which is absolutely true, it does have its place), but it's a poor rationale in this instance. First of all, most of the Grimm's fairy tales aren't intended for as young an audience as this book, and secondly, the Grimm's tales are *stories,* with plots and morals and some context for the scary parts, whereas this book has none of those things. The element of fear here is gratuitous; the author could just as easily have used non-threatening language and images without changing the substance of this book.

The fabulous illustrations are the only real redeeming factor with this book, and that bumps it up from a 1 star rating to a 3 star rating, in my opinion, but overall I would not recommend this book.

Like others have said, the pictures are very beautiful BUT scary. Animals are chasing unhappy kids who apparently were happily playing moments before, but drop their toys and run in terror from the animals.

My other complaint is the choice of animals. Seriously there is an "Umbrella Bird" and a "Xoona Moth". What? Xoona moth?! OK, it's hard to come up with an animal that starts with X, but come on, go with X-ray fish. At least X-ray is a word they might know!

If you haven't seen Clare Beaton's illustrations yet, you are missing out on a real treat. Beaton's illustrations are unique. She uses felt, buttons, beads and bric-a-brac, creating truly colorful and eye-catching pictures that toddlers will enjoy.

Each letter of the alphabet has its own page, for the most part with an animal "chasing" a child, ranging from "Carla" being chased by a cat to "Wendy" being chased by a wolf. The wolf looks rather ferocious so I imagine some children might find a few of the illustrations frightening. (Then again Grimm's very grim fairy tales have been told to children for centuries...)

To be truthful, the title of the book is what first caught my eye--my daughters name is Zoe... Because there are probably other people out there who would like to find a book with their child's name in it, here is the list of names used: Alice, Ben, Carla, Dylan, Erin, Farooq, Gopinder, Hamadi, India, Jacob, Kylie, Luke, Martha, Naiser, Olga, Pedro, Queenie, Reuben, Sita, Takeshi, Ursula, Victor, Wendy, Xavier, Yoko, and Zoe. As you can see from the list, the book is somewhat multi-cultural, an added bonus.

I'm a huge fan of books illustrated by Clare Beaton. The felt images are colorful and imaginative. In fact, I'd even consider buying an original to hang in my home if I could find one.

Zoe and Her Zebra is as good as Clare Beaton's best work. Each alphabet letter is gorgeously illustrated with a child whose name begins with that letter, being chased by an animal who also begins with that letter. For example, Ben is being chased by a Bear.

I also appreciated Beaton's efforts to make the cast of children multiracial and international. Alice and Ben are accompanied by Hamadi and Naiser, Olga and Pedro.

I have only two complaints. First, most of the children are also carrying an object which does NOT begin with the relevant letter. Why is Ben carrying a yo-yo instead of a ball? It seems like a missed opportunity to reinforce the letters.

Finally, and more importantly, almost all of the pictures are of scary situations, and the children are mostly frowning or sad. Poor Luke's hair is being parted by a Leopard's claw. And Pedro has a Porcupine quill stuck in his foot. It's only when we reach Z that things are happy, and Zoe is chasing the Zebra rather than the reverse.

Overall I love the book (and so does my 15-month old son), despite the somewhat grim context.

My three year old loves this book -- we first saw it at a play space we go to frequently. Every time we go there, she sits and has me read it to her and then 'reads' it to me.
I saw some other reviewers talked about it being scary -- I can see that since it has animals chasing kids, but it hasn't ever phased my daughter, so don't let it scare you away, if your kids aren't easily scared.

The names used in the book for the kids are a great variety of unusual names which I also think is great.

And I appreciate that some of the animals are unusual too, like xoona moth and umbrella bird. I like for my daughter to learn new words when we read, so I'm glad that it's not exactly the same as every other alphabet book on the market.

Clare Beaton's illustrations are wonderful with the felt and beadwork -- this is yet another of hers that's a must have for us.

The illustrations for this book are not scary. The situation for each letter is as follows "(Letter) is for (name) but who is chasing him/her?" The animal's name begins with the same letter. It is possible to be "chased by" an animal and not be in abject terror. It's all in how the parent presents the situation to the child. If you read the book in a way that makes it seem Sita is afraid of the Snake, it's your interpretation. If you make it light and funny that Ruben is chased by a Rabbit, that's how your child will take it. At the end "Zoe" and her "Zebra" seem to chase off all the "scary" animals anyway. It's no more frightening than your average Disney movie (in fact, it's much less).

Don't let the idea that "chased by" is "scary" keep you from enjoying this book with your child. The applique and embroidery work is exceptional and makes this book different from any other children's book I've seen. The colors are bright and each illustration is different. As other reviewers have said, the names and skin tones of the children are cross-cultural and the animals are diverse as well (not your usual menagerie).

The book is also well-constructed and large for a board book. It's easy for toddlers' hands to manipulate and the pages are large, allowing for enjoyment of the details even by the tiniest infant. I read this book to my Zoe from the time she was a wee baby and she still loves it. And it doesn't frighten her one bit.

My 6 year old had this book in paperback for a year and read it so much it lost pages and I had to buy a new board book! He can recite it in the car on trips, and I hear him speaking the alliterations under his breath as he draws. Beautiful pictures and diversity. Thanks!

I was hoping for a story (my baby is named Zoe) but instead it is another standard Alphabet book only featuring children with names that try way too hard to be diverse. Maybe my baby will grow into the illustrations, but right now she is confused by them.