meh

Tomatoes are like the Schrödinger's cat of produce.

I think maybe this book was just an excuse for the author to make a bunch of fruit puns, because they comprise the majority of the text.

Message

Tomatoes are fruit.

The tricky thing is the point.

It's one of those books that I'm not quite sure what to make of. It's an interesting story; I just don't really see what they're trying to say. I feel like some readers might think that it's glorifying con artists.

Message

Tricky Vic is an interesting person from history.

In a world... where there are only birds and rabbits...

It's not bad. It's got a good message, but it doesn't really go anywhere with it. It could have gone so much farther, and it didn't.

Message

Everybody fits in somewhere. There's a place for you.

What does it all mean??

I feel like this book is supposed to be metaphorical for something, but I don't get what. Maybe adoption? At first it comes across as maybe being like LGBTQ, but it doesn't go in the right direction for that.

Message

Unicorns and narwhals are similar?

Don't be arrogant, or a hermit will turn you back into a mouse.

Are all tigers prideful? Are they supposed to be that way? Is that what this story is saying, that tigers are all prideful? Was the tiger that attached the mouse/dog prideful? What does that even imply? Or is it saying that you shouldn't be proud of being powerful if you didn't earn your power?

Message

Bigger animals are more prideful and less grateful? Or maybe, don't be proud of what you didn't earn?

Somewhere on the good side of "meh."

"I don't have to tell you how these old friends felt at meeting again in this desperate situation." Okay, technically, Mr. Steig, you don't. But you also didn't have to write this book. You're a writer, for Pete's sake. Write.

Message

Be kind and help others.

I guess tortoises are turtles, too?

Alfie thinks that the party he arrives at, Nia's eighth birthday party, is the same day as he left, a year before. Maybe he's just really stupid.

Message

Turtles love you back.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear till the day I die.

This is like the "Baby Shark" of previous generations. Maybe it's cute once, but it will not get out of your head.

Message

Animals can be bizarre colors.

Adjective noun, adjective noun, what do you verb?

Just like its predecessor in the series, this book has no plot, and is a series of questions to a series of animals, phrased in exactly the same way, and is highly repetitive. I guess this one is for the parents who have burned out on "Brown Bear" and will be satisfied with a slight variation for a while.

Message

Different animals make different noises.

More like Sir Barely-Appearing-In-This-Book.

There's no realistic usage of mathematics in this. There's no engineering or practical application of anything. It feels like the author had an ending in mind, maybe just the title of the book, and wanted to write something based on Euler characteristics, so she had to make some kind of weird, contrived situation for them to derive Euler characteristics on their own. Everything they do is just super lucky. I don't know who's going to enjoy this book. People who are really gung-ho about math, I guess.

Message

Knowing mathematics will help you become the king? Enjoying math is mandatory.