Peter McCarty's new book is wonderfully illustrated as usual. It's the story of Chloe, the middle child of 21 kids. Her favorite time of the day is when all of her siblings come home and they can all have family fun time.This particular day her father brings home a television set. Everyone is excited except for Chloe and baby Bridget. After dinner everyone crowds around the TV. Chloe and Bridget think this is a lousy idea. Bridget finds the box and, wonder of wonders!, bubble wrap! Soon all the bunny children are playing with the box and bubble wrap. Father bunny is not happy about the turn of events as the kids are ruining his enjoyment of his TV show.Finally all of the children are sent to bed and Chloe loves being snuggled into bed with all of her sisters. The final illustration shows father bunny secretly playing with the bubble wrap.This is a great story with a great message. However, the message is never fully fleshed out. Instead of realizing that his kids would rather play creatively with each other, the parents shush the kids repeatedly in favor of television.A much better book on getting away from the TV and spending more time together as a family is "Hello! Hello!" by Matthew Cordell. Is a story about a little rabbit named Chloe. Chloe has 10 older brothers and sisters and 10 younger brothers and sisters. Chloe not only loves being the middle child, but also the center of attention. However, one day her dad brings home a gift for the family. Chloe soon finds out that her dad’s gift takes the family’s focus off of her. As a result, Chloe needs to find away to get her family’s attention again. This is one of my favorite McCarty books. The story has a good plot and theme. Also, the illustrations are very well done. My favorite illustration is the extended bunny family enjoying a colorful dinner.
What do You think about Chloe (2012)?
Simple story. Simple plot. Beautiful illustration. A picture book about the beautfy of family time.
—hazelhizuhizuzen
Beautiful illustrations. Simple story with a subtle message.
—gill
Cute story but nothing extraordinary about it.
—elvis
