Horn Book (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

When the Araboolies move to Liberty Street, they destroy its orderly solemnity with their odd and colorful ways. General Pinch declares war on them but is himself routed in the end. This allegory on tolerance delivers a simplistic message that could easily be misinterpreted by a picture-book age audience.

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

General Pinch successfully squelches any attempts at joy-making on Liberty Street until the Araboolies arrive. """"The many-sided satire on fascism is wordy and repetitive,"""" said PW. """"But the messages of freedom, individualism and tolerance are strong."""" Ages 4-up. (Apr.)

School Library Journal (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 2-5-- When the colorful, noisy, multihued Araboolies move to conventional, quiet Liberty Street, General Pinch and his wife are horrified. And when the Araboolies paint their house in bright zigzags, camp on the front lawn, and engage the neighborhood children in wild and joyful games, General Pinch calls out the army. Quickly the children decorate every house with paints, banners and balloons, leaving the General's house as the ``weird one'' on the block. Following orders to find the house that is different, the soldiers tie up the Pinch's house and drag it away. Brightly colored, sweeping, full double-page paintings enliven this modern fable of people vs. government. Swope's message may well be that diversity and individuality are good, but what comes through in the story is the sense that modern neighborhoods, no matter how ordinary, exist under the threat of military enforcement. The fact that the children of the neighborhood are able to cover up the radical individualism of the dissident family and turn the tables on the General himself gives no comfort. The pictures are full of action and entertainment, and the book can prove useful--not for the lighthearted story that was probably intended, but for consideration of the seldom-discussed role of the military in modern societies. The creators of this book, perhaps unwittingly, have produced that rarity, a picture book that deals with political issues as well as more subtle social themes of tolerance, conformity, and the rights of the individual in a community. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ