Horn Book (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Frank's parents won't buy him a pet; what choice does the animal-obsessed baby have but to secure the cash by robbing a bank? Whalley's rhymes sing ("Past every camera, gate, and guard, / the baby crawled unseen. / There were no bars or laser beams / he couldn't fit between"), and Collins's crisp, droll art seems inspired by Dan Yaccarino's style.[orig. review said: "...art seems to be built on Yaccarino-ian geometries." I get it, but not sure other will]

Kirkus Reviews

Baby Frank wants a pet, and the only way he can get one is by robbing a bank.Frank loves animals, but his parents refuse to get him a pet—they are too expensive to keep. While doing errands with his mom, Frank realizes the only way to get money to buy and care for a pet is to rob a bank. So he crawls past the guards and lasers at the bank and stuffs his black-and-white-striped onesie suit with bills and coins. He purchases a pet meerkat online and hides her in his room—but that's just the start. Soon his animal shopping gets out of control, and Frank is caught hiding a rhino. His family has to pay back the bank, so they open a zoo in their home and backyard and charge admission. In the end, Frank understands stealing is wrong, and he spends his time at the zoo leading tours and cleaning up poop. The story is silly and imaginative. Written in rhyme, this book has great rhythm and flow, making it an excellent read-aloud. Although there is punishment for Frank's actions, the story leaves plenty of room to have conversations about stealing, consequences, and keeping wild animals as pets. Collins' somewhat-retro mixed-media illustrations add life to the story, maximizing the silliness of a bald, white baby not yet able to walk who is also a criminal mastermind.Overall, a bubbly and imaginatively illustrated read-aloud. (Picture book. 3-6)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Baby Frank, who still sleeps in a crib and wears black-and-white-striped onesies, desperately wants a pet. -It didn-t matter what it was-/ a dog, a cat, or rabbit-/ if Frank saw fur while out on walks,/ he-d lunge and try to grab it,- Whalley writes. But a pet and its accoutrements require something babies don-t have: cash. The titular heist goes off without a hitch (Frank slips through the bars and past the laser beam alarms), and thanks to the internet, he soon accumulates a secret menagerie-until Mom discovers the rhino in the shed. What-s a family to do with a zoo-s worth of animals, and how can they ensure that baby-s first heist is his last? The story-s wrap-up hedges its bets ethically-yes, the punishment fits the crime, but Frank-s realization that -stealing things was very wrong- feels more mandated than convincing. Nevertheless, Collins, a cartoonist and graphic novelist making his children-s book debut, creates a colorful, slyly skewed world for his obsessed protagonist to inhabit, and Frank-s youthful resourcefulness and deeply appealing, googly eyed -who, me?- look are enough to suggest that he isn-t truly a bad seed. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)

School Library Journal (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

PreS-Gr 1 Animal-obsessed baby Frank longs for a pet, but his parents feel that owning one is prohibitively costly. While Frank is at a bank with his mom, the solution becomes clearto fund his dream of keeping a "furry friend," Frank just needs to rob the place! Conveniently clad in a black-and-white striped onesie, the little criminal dons a bandit mask and sneaks past the bank's impressive security defenses. Cramming his suit full of bills, he rides the bus with his mom, and all of the passersby except a dog are oblivious to the comically oversize infant. Once home, he buys a host of animals off the Internet and conceals them in increasingly unlikely spots. "There were leopards in his cupboards and a beaver in the bath. And Frank was really struggling to hide his new giraffe." The jig is up, however, once Frank's mom finds "a rhino in the shed" and discovers Frank's secret stash. To recompense the bank in full, the family opens a zoo in their home, with baby Frank happy at last, "behind bars." Whalley's jaunty verse is a delight to read aloud, and the deadpan tone is deftly fleshed out by Collins's playful gouache-and-ink cartoon illustrations. The lovable googly-eyed protagonist and a plethora of silly details will tickle sharp-eyed readers. VERDICT A hilarious British import, light on the moral but heavy on the fun, that merits many repeat readings. Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University