About the Author:
Tomie dePaola (www.tomie.com) is the acclaimed author and/or illustrator of more than 250 books for children. His books range from autobiographical stories to retellings of folktales and legends to original tales, such as the Strega Nona books. Tomie has received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, a Caldecott Honor for Strega Nona, and a Newbery Honor for his autobiographical chapter book, 26 Fairmount Avenue.The American Library Association said: “His works reflect an innate understanding of childhood, a distinctive visual style, and a remarkable ability to adapt his voice to perfectly suit the story.” He was awarded the Smithson Medal, the Regina Medal, was designated a “living treasure” by the state of New Hampshire, and received the 2012 Original Art Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Society of Illustrators. He lives in New London, New Hampshire.
From Kirkus Reviews:
The adventures of Bill the crocodile and his sidekick Pete the plover (Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile, 1987, etc.) continue with this trans-Atlantic rescue of Bill's little cousin Jane Allison. She's been been kidnapped from her Nile home by the Bad Guy's Big Bad Brother, to be showcased at his Exotic Animal Farm in New Orleans. Bill and Pete get wind of the heist and stow away on the boat transporting Jane Allison. The story gets a little involved: Pete is incarcerated and Bill forms an animal liberation group with some Cajun alligatorsBubba and his cousinswhom he meets in Decatur Bayou. Pete escapes and joins Bill and the new friends in the freeing of Jane Allison and her fellow inmates at the farm. DePaola has laced the story with clever quipsPete, who has been caught and caged on the top floor of a swanky home, says to himself, ``It is lonely up here at the top,'' and Bill's mother says, ``It's times like these that I wish your father was here, and not a suitcase''and his illustrations are highly amusing. It strains the series to work in that New Orleans backdrop, but readers will still be hoping for another glimpseon any continentof Bill and Pete. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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