School Library Journal (Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

K-Gr 2 In this third series beginning reader, Dog's toothbrush is missing. Ever helpful but not-so-clever, Donkey asks, "What does a toothbrush look like?" Sheep and Duck are stumped. Dog reveals one attribute at a timebristles, long handle, etc. With each clue, Donkey matches Dog's description with something a little like a toothbrush, but then again not like a toothbrush at all. Fat Cat is indeed bristly, but is not a toothbrush! After several guesses, Donkey gives up and goes back to scrubbing its hoofswith Dog's toothbrush! Like Thomas's previous picture books, this title uses a presentational layout with the small cast of characters lining up on the page and a large font printed inside speech bubbles clearly attributing dialogue. The digital artwork uses background colors help to set a pattern: orange when Dog shares clues, red as Donkey proclaims, "Here is your toothbrush!," and blue for traveling to a new place. The all-dialogue text packs a giggle-inducing punch line. As a picture book, this hilarious story is a fun read-aloud. There's also plenty of word repetition, helpful for emerging readers. Unfortunately, there are some potential roadblocks for new readers, too. First, it's difficult to visually illustrate the absence of something, in this case a toothbrush. Second, it's tricky when something is described on one page, but the visual context clues follow the page turn. VERDICT A stronger read-aloud than beginning reader, yet this is still a fun romp for old and new Thomas fans alike. Amy Seto Forrester, Denver Public Library

ALA Booklist (Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

Oh no, Dog's toothbrush has disappeared! Eager to help track it down but plainly clueless, Donkey takes a description (bristles, long red handle) and leads the increasingly annoyed Dog to a whiskery cat, a broom, and a red-handled eggbeater. Through the very simply drawn cartoons of this early reader, Thomas adds to her animated cast a duck and a sheep who provide response cues with shrugs, eye rolls, or exaggeratedly concerned looks. The all-dialogue narrative, printed in large type and placed in balloons over solid-color backgrounds, offers both a patterned structure ("THAT is not my toothbrush!") and some chewy vocabulary: toothbrush, bristly, weird. Eventually, Donkey gives up and goes back to hoof cleaning, with a comment ("Weird! My scrubber has Dog's name on it") that prompts the sheep to say to Dog, "I think you need a new toothbrush." Yup. A droll knee-slapper for newly emergent readers.

Kirkus Reviews

In the latest entry in the Giggle Gang series, Duck, Sheep, and Donkey help Dog find its missing toothbrush with unsettling results.Holding a cup and toothpaste tube, Dog declares, "My toothbrush is missing!" Donkey innocently asks, "What does a toothbrush look like?" Each description (bristles, long handle, red handle) prompts Donkey to respond with, "Weird. I feel like I've seen it…" and to produce something similar—though inappropriate and silly, such as a cat (bristly whiskers), a broom, and an eggbeater with a short red handle. When Donkey resolves to give up trying to help and goes back to scrubbing its hoofs with, what else, a red toothbrush labeled "DOG," Sheep concludes, "I think you need a new toothbrush" to Duck's like-minded "Quack." In companion title My Friends Make Me Happy! Sheep is the protagonist, asking its "FRIENDS!" if they can guess what makes him "HAPPY?" A hint that the answer starts with the letter "F" produces some silly responses: "FISH!" "FANS!" and "TURNIPS!" Sheep finally reveals the obvious answer, "It's FRIENDS!" then laments, "My friends make me CRAZY!" (This usage is not redressed.) Bold colors and black-outlined cartoon digital art with repetitive balloon dialogue keep the focus on the simple language. An appended three-step short outline to encourage reading is good advice.Pedagogically sound but mean-spirited. (Early reader. 6-8)