ALA Booklist (Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2004)

Cannon, best known as the author/illustrator of Stellaluna (1993), here introduces Pinduli, a little hyena who lives in East Africa. One afternoon, Pinduli encounters a pack of wild dogs that make fun of her ears, a bald lion that calls her fur a "prickly fringe," and a zebra that criticizes the haziness of her stripes. After transforming her "flaws" as best she can, Pinduli inadvertently tricks these animals into thinking that she is the "Great Spirit." They confess their misdeeds and agree to make amends. Children will find Pinduli's hurt feelings understandable and her quick thinking admirable. The artwork, executed in colored pencils and acrylics, uses a restrained palette in the large pictures depicting the main story on the right-hand pages. On the left, below the text, a series of small ink drawings create a visual counterpoint by showing what Pinduli's mother is doing while events unfold. A four-page endnote discusses the various species of hyenas and their characteristics. Though a bit purposeful, the story may give teachers and parents a starting point for discussing insults.

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2005)

Pinduli is a young female hyena whose identifying characteristics bring on rude comments from other East African savanna animals. The story sags under the weight of its message once the animals reveal they made fun of Pinduli because they themselves had been hurt by similar taunts. Still, it's worth making it through to the informative back matter. Cannon's illustrations are both expressive and faithful to nature.

Kirkus Reviews

After being ridiculed for her big ears, her fuzzy fur, and her uneven stripes, a little hyena tries to change herself into something else, but learns an amazing secret about the power of words to hurt and to heal. When she covers herself in pale thick dust, the other animals on the savanna believe that Pinduli's a spirit sent to extract penance for their unkindness. Turns out that each of the animals was ridiculed for their own individuality, making them in turn tease another animal. Finding freedom in this revelation, Pinduli (a Swahili word for catalyst) extracts promises of apologies and throws in a request for food, knowing that it will ease her mother's burden. Graphic paintings illustrate the stark savanna and its variety of inhabitants. Appendices introduce hyenas and the reason that some animals lack fur or feathers. Preachy, but Cannon fans will lap it up. (Picture book. 5-8)

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

Cannon (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Stellaluna) applies her familiar formula to the animals of the African savanna in this rambling tale of a striped hyena who learns about how cruel insults can be. Once again, Cannon combines an anthropomorphic story with factual endnotes about the wildlife, and the engaging artwork succeeds in making an unappealing creature sympathetic. The illustrations mix Audubon verisimilitude with Disney-like sentimentality. When Dog, Lion and Zebra insult young Pinduli, her ears droop as if she were a sad-eyed, lovable cartoon rabbit; and when the animals think dust-covered Pinduli is a ghost, their suddenly yellow eyes bulge like startled characters in a Halloween movie. The text often grows ponderous ("Please spare us your wrath!," says Lion to the ghost, "I, too, have spread discord, by insulting a young hyena's mane"), and the plot mushrooms in complexity as readers learn that each animal has insulted Pinduli because they were insulted themselves. (With a nod to <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Stellaluna, Fennac Fox explains, "I guess I was having a bad day. Serval Cat said I looked like a little fuzzy bat without wings.") By the time the insults multiply and apologies go around, the message has been underscored a dozen times. Nonetheless, this disappointingly didactic effort may well appeal to Cannon fans. Ages 5-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3-After sleeping through the hot East African afternoon, it is time for Mama Hyena and her child to go hunting. Pinduli promises to stay close by, but then trots off. She comes across a pack of wild dogs, a lion, and a zebra, and all tease her about her looks. She rolls in the dirt until her striped coat is a pallid gray and her ears are pinned back. The animals think that she is a "ghost" that has come for them. All of the creatures then confess that they teased the young hyena because another animal had made fun of them. The "ghost" understands and advises them to "find your tormentors and make peace-. And always leave a bit of every meal as an offering." By story's end, the animals have reconciled, and with all the food offerings left, Pinduli and her mother never have to scrounge around looking for meals. The animals' expressions and antics are hilarious and endearing; Cannon has pulled off quite a feat in creating a cuddly hyena protagonist. This touching book about personal growth and self-acceptance gently demonstrates how the actions of one can have far-reaching effects on many others. An appealing and worthwhile purchase.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.