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Donaldson, Julia

The Smeds and the Smoos

32 pp. | Scholastic | November, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-338-66976-3 $17.99
(2) PS Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Donaldson and Scheffler (most recently The Ugly Five, rev. 9/18) tell the story of the red Smeds and the blue Smoos, who share a far-off planet but deeply distrust each other (as the Smeds are warned: "Never, never play with the Smoos. / They sleep in holes. They wear strange shoes"). The antipathy goes unquestioned--until Smed Janet and Smoo Bill form a friendship. Rhyming couplets are peppered with nonsense words that, à la Dr. Seuss or Carroll's "The Jabberwocky," still somehow make sense; for example, "Janet met Bill in the Wurpular Wood, / Where the trockles grew tall / and the ­glompoms smell good." Scheffler's ink-and-­watercolor pictures have a zany cartoonish feel, paying homage to Seuss. The alien planet features a variety of comical flourishes, including quirky plants with teeth, spikes, or eyes; each surrounding planet, too, has its own distinct character. ­Donaldson's message is clear without being heavy-handed, with a satisfying final scene of harmonious joy over the new (purple) baby and the Smeds and Smoos, young and old, celebrating under the "silvery squoon."
Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

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