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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Stayton Public Library | E FOX | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | OUT LOUD FOX | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | JP Fox | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Meet Nellie Belle, a loveable pup who has fun, fun, fun everywhere she goes in this picture book from the author of Baby Bedtime and Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!
On the beach, in the yard, even in the park in the dark--Nellie Belle always has fun. But what's the most fun of all? Why snuggling in bed with her best friend Ted, of course!
With terrific rhyme, sweet characters, and a cozy ending, this picture book from Mem Fox is just right for reading aloud to little ones. And illustrator Mike Austin's darling dog makes it especially irresistible!
Author Notes
Mem Fox was born on March 5, 1946 in Melbourne, Australia. She attended a drama school in London. She returned to Australia where she was a college professor.
She writes children's books including Possum Magic, Night Noises, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, Time for Bed, Koala Lou, Wombat Divine, Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, Hello Baby!, A Giraffe in the Bath (co-written with Olivia Rawson), Count Goats!, and The Little Dragon. She has also written several books for adults.
She has received numerous awards including the 1990 Dromkeen Medal for distinguished services to children's literature, a 1991 Advance Australia Award for her outstanding contribution to Australian literature, and a medal in the 1993 Australia Day Honours awards for services to the cultural life of Australia.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Nellie Belle is a bright-eyed hound dog who escapes her fenced yard and explores the scenery around town. After a scare in the park, she decides home is best and goes back to snuggle up with her teddy bear. The story starts in Nellie's backyard, as she gazes through a hole in the fence. "Is it fun in the yard, Nellie Belle, Nellie Belle? Is it fun in the yard, Nellie Belle?" The page turn shows Nellie digging under the fence and peering back through the same hole: "Digging earth that's very hard, in the yard, in the yard-is it fun in the yard, Nellie Belle?" For every place that Nellie discovers, the text follows the same pattern, asking if it's fun in the street, on the beach, in the sea, and in the park. Nellie looks like she's having fun everywhere-until she gets to the park. Suddenly the bright colors are gone and the pages are filled with dark purple and green foliage with eyes staring out from the dark. Here the pattern breaks as Nellie finally answers, "NO!" and turns tail to run home. The cheery digital illustrations add a lot of humor and use recurring details to guide readers from page to page. VERDICT Finding the right tune or rhythm for this book will be the key to read-aloud success, but those who are able to make it work will enjoy it for storytime or one-on-one reading.-Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Fox (Baby Bedtime) supplies the sweetly cadenced rhymes and Austin (Fire Engine No. 9) the visual comedy as they follow an eager brown dog from home to the beach and back. After digging in the backyard and running into a baker, guitarist, and a few children on the street, Nellie Belle tussles with seagulls and a crab before playing in the water with a seal: "Is it fun in the sea, Nellie Belle, Nellie Belle?/ Is it fun in the sea, Nellie Belle?/ Swimming fast and swimming free,/ in the sea, in the sea-/ is it fun in the sea, Nellie Belle?" Austin, working digitally, uses overlapping shapes and marblelike textures to create a cheerful seaside town for Nellie Belle; a run-in with some possums in a dark corner of a park sends the dog scooting back home to snuggle up with the teddy bear she left behind in the yard. It's an energetic, romping story from start to finish, yet counterbalanced by the soothing repetitions and rhythms of Fox's verse. Ages 4-8. Illustrator's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Is it fun on the beach, Nellie Belle, Nellie Belle? / Is it fun on the beach, / Nellie Belle?" For this happy-go-lucky dog, the fun stops upon "seeing possums in the dark, / in the park in the park." It's a funny wrinkle in the merriment, enhanced by knockout cut-paper-like digital illustrations, but the book's repetition gets tedious, gets tedious. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A canine explorer finds small adventures in the wide world outside her fenced yard. Fox's simple, patterned chant has echoes of "Billy Boy" and is terrific fun to read aloud: "Is it fun in the street, / Nellie Belle, Nellie Belle? / Is it fun in the street, / Nellie Belle? // Greeting everyone you meet, / in the street, in the street / is it fun in the street, Nellie Belle?" To this verse, Austin pairs bright cartoon scenes featuring a small hound who digs her way out of a lush garden, leaving a plush teddy bear behind. She is greeted by children and other passers-by, chases and is chased by sea gulls, plays with a seal, and follows a ball into the deep shade beneath a stand of trees. Crisp-edged, colorful digital art combines vignettes, full-page pictures, and double-page spreads (both framed and unframed), keeping energy high. But enough's enough, and the spooky eyes of "possums in the dark, / in the park, in the park" sends Nellie Belle scooting back home to snuggle down in her bed with "dear old Ted." Sunny, reassuring fare for recent graduates from toddlerdom itching to leave safe harbors (for a time, at least) to check out new horizons of their own. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In her latest, veteran author Fox (Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, 2008) tells the story of a long-eared puppy who wanders far from home before realizing there's no place like it. The tale is told in repeating rhymes and questions that give it a jaunty air and will help young readers with word recognition. The canine hero, Nellie Belle, is first seen in a flower-filled yard, peering through a hole in the fence that reveals a lighthouse off in the distance. Austin's (Fire Engine No. 9, 2015) digital illustrations are as bright and lively as Nellie Belle, and he uses several panels to show the dog digging her way out of the yard. Ever curious, she moves from street to beach to the sea, joyfully greeting passersby, seagulls, and a seal. When the pup comes back from swimming to investigate a dark and scary park, she hightails it to her doggie bed, making for a very cozy end to her far-flung adventure.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2015 Booklist