Kirkus Reviews

An elephant and a rhino can't see eye to eye, but they eventually find a helpful middle ground. Petal, a wide-eyed elephant sporting a flowery hat and cheery heart-printed dress, is thrilled her friend Poppy is not around so she can practice her tuba. Little does she know that Poppy, a rhino in a bikini, is sitting nearby, quietly reading. Disrupted by the music, Poppy declares it an opportune time to scuba dive. Petal worries about her friend and decides to join her on the boat. After her dive, when Poppy returns to the surface, she discovers the fog has rolled in, obscuring her boat. Happily, Petal's resonant tuba serves as a foghorn and helps reunite the friends. The simple story with clear, bright art demonstrates that friends do not always need to agree and bobs along as buoyantly as sun across the water. Although a sweet and cheery pair, Petal and Poppy may not have enough oomph—be it laughs, silliness or a winning combination of the two—to stand out in an already glutted market of early-reader buddy stories. Still, readers beguiled by the elephant-rhino pals may want to check out their second tale, Petal and Poppy and the Penguin, publishing simultaneously. A blithe and breezy charmer. (Graphic early reader. 4-8)

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

As she did in Felicity & Cordelia: A Tale of Two Bunnies, Clough pairs up an adventure seeker and a worrywart in this addition to the publisher-s Green Light Readers line of leveled readers. Though Petal the elephant enjoys practicing her tuba, her playing (-BAH-BWAB-BAAH!-) irks rhino Poppy, who decides to go scuba diving to escape the din. Imagining the calamities that might await her friend, Petal insists on accompanying Poppy in her sailing dinghy. The sound of Petal-s music guides Poppy to the boat when she gets lost in the fog, and Poppy in turn rescues Petal after she jumps in the water to look for her friend. The story unfolds entirely through the characters- tidy dialogue and musings, which appear in speech and thought balloons. Briant-s (Don-t Look Now) illustrations also play a vital role in the storytelling; the action moves forward in rectangular comics-style panels, and the bright teals and oranges of his palette help make the friends- seaside home feel inviting and picturesque. This odd couple also stars in Petal and Poppy and the Penguin, due simultaneously. Ages 6-8. (Apr.)

Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Best pals Petal, an elephant, and Poppy, a rhino, are quite the odd couple. Worrywart Petal plays tuba; Poppy is a "BANZAI!"-shouting scuba diver. In their first outing, Petal's tuba-playing rescues Poppy. In Penguin, Poppy handles Petal's germaphobia (among other issues) when a visitor arrives. At times, Poppy's voice sounds too grown-up, but the comic bookstyle illustrations offer a fresh approach to easy readers.

ALA Booklist (Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

A quirky, nervous elephant wearing a floppy flower hat and playing a tuba becomes a hero in this friendship story in the Green Light Readers line of titles. When Petal the elephant practices the tuba, Poppy the rhino quickly decides to go scuba diving to escape the noise. Petal's mind immediately races: What if Poppy is "swallowed by a whale" or something else horrible happens, and they never see each other again? Petal decides to hop aboard the boat with her friend, and when a thick cloud of fog creeps in and engulfs Poppy, it's Petal's tuba that brings the friends back together again. The vibrant, graphic illustrations in comics-style panels and text aimed skillfully at newly emergent readers combine to tell a heartwarming story of how unexpected courage, kindness, and compromise can strengthen friendships. New readers will look forward to more adventures from Petal and Poppy.

School Library Journal (Thu May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

K-Gr 2 In this first book in the new series, Clough introduces readers to best friends Petal and Poppy. Petal is a worrier who loves to play the tuba, while Poppy is always up for an adventure. One sunny day while Petal is practicing her tuba, Poppy decides to escape the loud noise and go scuba diving. Petal sees Poppy leaving, and begins to worry about all of the bad things that could happen to Poppy in the ocean, so she asks if she can go too. Unfortunately, Petal is too scared to scuba dive, so she sits in the boat worrying and practicing her tuba while Poppy explores the ocean. Although Petal is scared, she doesn't hesitate to jump in to look for Poppy when she begins to worry about her friend's safety. Clough uses several multi-syllable words that emerging readers may find challenging. An additional purchase for beginning reader collections. Joy Poynor, Rogers Public Library, AR