School Library Journal Starred Review

PreS-Gr 1-During a trip to the library, Charlie helps his younger sister search for her favorite book, Beetles, Bugs, and Butterflies. Lola is dismayed when they cannot find it, and though Charlie tries to distract her with other titles, but nothing measures up to "her" beloved tome. He patiently explains to Lola that it's not her book because it belongs to the library, meaning everyone can have a chance to read it. Although she is horrified when another girl walks by carrying the sought-after title, Lola reluctantly agrees to try Cheetahs and Chimpanzees instead, and ultimately decides that it might actually be the "most best book in the whole wide world." The author does an excellent job of capturing the way youngsters think and act, and Lola epitomizes the typical child who doesn't quite understand the concept of borrowing. The story flows at a comfortable pace, and the language is easy to comprehend. The collage artwork is charming. Pastel backgrounds blend with brightly patterned materials and photo clips to provide a colorful setting for the appealing cartoon characters. An excellent addition to picture-book collections.-Kristen M. Todd, Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

ALA Booklist (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2006)

PreS-Gr. 2. For some children, only one book will do. Such is the case for Lola, who loves Beetles, Bugs, and Butterflies , which is simply the best book in the world. Her older brother, Charlie, notes she's taken it out of the library several times but agrees to help Lola find it in the stacks once more. However, once they arrive, Beetles, Bugs, and Butterflies is nowhere to be found. Charlie tries to explain that this is a library--other people check out books. Then he tries to get Lola interested in books on other topics: spies, airplanes, dinosaurs, Romans? No go. Parents will laugh knowingly at Lola's one-track mind , but Charlie's readers'-advisory efforts come through in the end. Lots of laughs and a high-energy text are matched by the exciting, eye-catching design and clever collage-style art. This story and the illustrations have also been reformatted as an episode of the television series Project Disney . Librarians will find the book helpful to use with young patrons who are in the same situation as Lola.

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

After Lola learns that her beloved Beetles, Bugs, and Butterflies has been checked out, her brother Charlie tries to sell her on several other library books. Their subjects are excuses for Child's wonderful fantasy tableaux (e.g., Charlie and Lola cross a bridge in a pop-up book), but Excuse Me has the unfortunate effect of sounding like a too-strident plug for reading.

Kirkus Reviews

Charlie and his relentlessly verbal little sister Lola, now licensed TV characters, take a trip to the library in this script-based episode, illustrated with stills from the show done in Child's distinctive photo-and-cartoon collage style. For Lola, the only good book in the world is the oft-read Beetles, Bugs and Butterflies , so she is understandably stressed to see it checked out by another girl—"I don't think she knows that it is my book !" Fruitlessly trying to hush her, Charlie tempts her with other choices, heading off the gathering storm at last with Cheetahs and Chimpanzees —which, predictably, quickly displaces Beetles, Bugs and Butterflies in Lola's affections. Adding a melancholy but realistic touch to a familiar interchange, there is no sign of a librarian (or other adult) among the shelves of generic books in this natural follow-up to Marc Brown's D.W.'s Library Card (2001) and similar exploratory visits. (Picture book. 5-7)