Out to Lunch

"Mind your manners well today, we're out to lunch, not out to play!" Joe's parents take him out to a fancy restaurant, but no matter how much his mother pleads, Joe just can't sit still. "Do you have crayons or playgrounds?" he asks the waiter. He slurps and burps and scratches his itchy toe. "The table is no place for feet. Please, Joe, sit still and eat!" scold his parents. Mischievous Joe just can't stop wiggling and playing, and his amusing antics quickly turn a quiet lunch at a fancy restaurant into an embarrassing spectacle. Young readers who remember the obstinate little frog Joe from To the Tub and Time for Bed, the Babysitter Said will not be surprised to find him causing a bit more trouble. And they will be delighted as they recognize themselves in this headstrong little frog, while anyone who has ever taken a small child out to eat will sympathize with Joe's mortified, ever-patient parents.

PreSchool-Grade 1?The frog family depicted in Time for Bed, the Babysitter Said (1987) and To the Tub (1997, both Houghton) is back. This time little Joe's long-suffering parents attempt to take him to a fancy restaurant for lunch. The irrepressible preschooler is in constant motion despite the repeated refrain, "We're out to lunch, not out to play." Full-page, color cartoons capture the exasperated expressions of the adults around him perfectly. The bouncy rhymed text reads aloud well and could also be enjoyed independently by beginning readers. A treat.?Lisa Smith, Lindenhurst Memorial Library, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A brief rhyming text, suitable for beginning readers, and cartoon-style illustrations chronicle a frog family's disastrous lunch at a fancy restaurant. Young Joe crawls under the table, plays with his food, slurps and burps, and, true to his froggy nature, catches a fly on his tongue. His parents try in vain to control him while other diners point and stare, frown indisapproval, and laugh out loud. The frazzled waiter, splashed with food and drink, clearly can't wait for the family to leave. And leave they do, to the safety of a fast-food joint, where Joe can cavort happily in the playground while his parents glumly eat their burgers and fries. This has funny moments, especially the fly-catching and the surprise ending, but the slapstick humor spins out of control, and the point of view is adult. Any parent who has endured such a meal will relate to this, but children may miss the point. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.