KidsRunning.com
This is an adorable story for young children. They will enjoy Erik's bright watercolor and colored pencil illustrations. But it's not a book for children alone. It's a great gift of hope and patience for the injured runner. And a reminder that slow and fast runners can be friends.

- Carol Goodrow, ed.

The South Sound Book Review Council
Erik Brooks does a beautiful job in both writing and illustrating this book. His attention to the details of the animals in Africa and color is very pleasing. The expressions on the animals faces are terrific. But what captured me most was the voice I heard in the story. I actually felt calm and peaceful when reading it--I could hear Quince, the sloth, tell me "we are doing something." Everyone needs to stop and appreciate what they have, and sometimes it takes an injury to give us that opportunity. I loved it and think everyone will!

- Carol Hahn

Society of Midland Authors Award for Children's Fiction. Honorable Mention. 2004

School Library Journal
Grade 1-3. The neighborhood kids are afraid of mysterious Priscilla O'Moore, and their imaginations run wild as they speculate on the contents of her rickety shed: "Even Shirley McGee overheard a strange call/Ms. O'Moore had made on a phone at the mall./`She bought puppy ears! Yuck! But believe what I say-/I saw them delivered the very next day!'" Their new classmate, Pinkerton Junior Detective Octavius Bloom, eagerly takes on the case, armed with his magnifying glass, binoculars, and "top-secret lunchbox." When he examines the woman's backyard, he finds an old garden glove instead of a zombie's hand, and ultimately discovers that the "-creepy old shed with its ominous gloom/is a really fantastic cactus room!" The colored-pencil and watercolor cartoon illustrations are imaginatively detailed, and the mysterious shadows visible through the shed's windows build suspense. An endnote provides information on cacti and interesting trivia about the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The rhyming verse will help new readers, and young mystery fans are sure to enjoy this humorous investigation.

- Barbara Buckley, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Booklist
Percy the polar bear has a problem with peer pressure. He loves his bright red, star-studded, footed flannel pajamas. Unfortunately, the pj's are only "practically perfect" because the other polar bears, attired only in their Arctic fur, tease and ostracize Percy for being different. Percy tries to fit in by discarding his pajamas, but he finds life without them cold, dirty, and miserable. What's more, even after his sacrifice the other bears give him the cold shoulder. An Arctic fox, Aurora, who admires Percy for his individuality, inspires the bear to persist in being himself. Eventually, Percy and Aurora win the friendship of the other bears through an act of inspired generosity, providing a surprise twist and satisfying resolution to a story that every child can identify with. This is a jolly tale with eye-popping illustrations in watercolors and colored pencils. The polar bears' expressions and contortions are priceless.

- Connie Fletcher, Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

 - Carolyn Phelan, March 15, 2008

Kirkus Reviews
Little sister Boo will not leave big brother Sammy alone so he can read. Eventually he gives is and reads his book aloud to her and her toy dinosaur. Inspired by her brother's book, Boo goes out to find a dinosaur of her own. When her parents humor her and let the dinosaur stay, Boo declares herself "the luckiest girl in the wolrd." Despite his older brother stature, Sammy almost believes Boo when she tells about the flights she makes, the happy rumbling her imaginary friend makes and the high bed-bounces required for the dinosaur to see Boo in the window. And, when the dinosaur leaves, Sammy is there to comfort his little sister. Frequent warm black-and-white illustrations extend the text and provide ample visual cues in the reassuring tale of sibling love for new readers. (Fiction 6-9, Sept. 2006)

Midwest Book Review
Totem Tale: A Tall Story From Alaska by Deb Vanasse combines a lively and original story with skillfully drawn illustrations by Erik Brooks to create the fun tale of a Native American totem pole which comes to life in the beauty of a moon-lit night. Children will follow the adventures of a beaver, an eagle, a bear, a wolf, a raven and a frog through a remarkable journey on one very special night. An engaging picturebook account of cooperation, faithfulness, and helping out a friend in need, Totem Tale is very highly recommended for all young readers, as well as parents and librarians searching for something entertaining and worthwhile for children ages 5 through 8 to read and enjoy. (July 2006)

- John Peters, Copyright 2005

Kirkus Reviews
On your way home from the zoo, pick up this anthology of lively folktales, proverbs and fun facts about the world's monkeys and their relationship to people. Highlighting stories and information from Africa and Madagascar (with a full description of lemurs, monkey ancestors saved from extinction on this island), the Americas and Asia, the author energetically retells stories from famous sources including the Indian Ramayana, and the Mayan Popul Voh, as well as pourquoi stories, such as the West African fable explaining "Why a Monkey's Not a Man." Climo sometimes adapts the tales, specifying certain types of monkeys (always citing reasons), and she includes an extensive, annotated bibliography. The colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations are full of action. A playful collection that can inspire a classroom unit, a storyteller or a child interested in animal lore. (Folklore. 8-11)

Publishers Weekly
More than a dozen stories plus riddles, proverbs and, yes, even "monkey sign language" comprise Monkey Business: Stories from Around the World by Shirley Climo, illus. by Erik Brooks. Brooks's full-page and spot illustrations play up the variety of the simians, from the Congo to Brazil to the Philippines. Some deliver morals in the form of a fable, others explain why monkeys behave as they do.

- Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.