Fiona Raps It Up

A lost flamingo tries to find her flock after learning rap from Cap'n Otter.

PreSchool-Grade 1?Winging her way toward the nesting grounds with the rest of the flock, Fiona the flamingo misses an important left turn, gets tossed about in a storm, and winds up aboard Rappin' Cap'n Otter's banana boat. The kindly sailor paints a fierce face on Fiona's newly laid egg to protect it from predators and points the expectant bird toward Bolivia; off she splashes, cradling her egg and rapping like the Cap'n: "Yo, condor brother,/one bird to another,/help me find my flock/before I'm a mother!" It's a near thing, but she reaches the right beach just as little Floyd hatches. If Remkiewicz's lame rap doesn't set readers giggling, the sight of Fiona, stalking gamely through simply rendered cartoon jungle scenes clutching her toothy, scowling egg, certainly will. Another antic tale from the author of The Bone Stranger (Lothrop, 1994).?John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Remkiewicz (The Bone Stranger; The Last Time I Saw Harris) broadly defines "rap" in this workmanlike tale about a pink flamingo. Fiona, who's about to lay an egg, takes off for the nesting grounds with her flock. But after Fiona boasts that she can fly with her eyes shut, she loses her way and crash-lands on Rappin' Cap'n Otter's banana boat, where the egg pops out. The captain, who speaks mostly in basic rhyme, draws a face on the egg ("You'll meet hungry critters and this egg looks delicious./ I've made it look scary so they'll think that it's vicious"), then sends Fiona on her way. The flamingo encourages herself with simple verse as she walks by alligators and other predators ("I'll tiptoe past/ while Jaguar's snoozin'/ or it's more than feathers/ I'll be losin'!"). Despite the potential dangers, Fiona and her egg make it to the nest without a hitch, and another rhyming bird is born. Remkiewicz's cartoons are neatly drawn but, like the narrative, they lack sparkle. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.