From Publishers Weekly
Familiar characters star in all new adventures this season and a pair of companion volumes encourage wordplay. In William Joyce's Big Time Olie, the robot boy hero makes use of the "shrink-and-grow-a-lator" when his parents exclude him from activities because of his size. Olie gets unexpected results when he hits the wrong buttons on the machine.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-Rolie Polie Olie is too small to go to Mount Big Ball and too big to jump on his bed eating ice cream. When he decides to use the "shrink-and-grow-a-lator," he becomes so small that his sister thinks he's a doll; next, he becomes so big that one jump puts him in outer space, and he winds up bruised, burned, and lonely. The family dog, with the help of mom and dad, helps Rolie get back to just the right size, and he decides that "I won't be in such a hurry to grow all Rolie up." The brightly colored characters, fashioned out of round balls, metal springs, and simple shapes, and the slightly futuristic, but somehow old-fashioned cartoon quality of the illustrations meet for a wonderfully playful effect. The spare, rhythmic text perfectly captures the conflicting desires of preschoolers to grow up and venture out, yet to be safe and close to home and family.
Shelley B. Sutherland, Niles Public Library District, ILCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.