Tag: llamas

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Brace Yourselves. The Alpacalypse is Here.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Last year, there was a great disturbance in the Force (or something like that) when a Llama ate too much cake, which led to the destruction of the world. This year, Llama, in his quest to avoid housework, has unleashed something so great, so much bigger than all of us, that there may be repercussions for years to come.

Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse, by Jonathan Stutzman/Illustrated by Heather Fox,
(May 2020, Henry Holt), $18.99, ISBN: 9781250222855

Ages 3-6

I am slightly obsessed with picture books, I’ll be the first to tell you. Llama is one of my latest obsessions. The first book, Llama Destroys the World, is HILARIOUS. Like, my Kiddo and I attempt to read it together where I’m the narrator and he’s the Llama, and we can’t get through it in one shot because we’re laughing so hard. So when I had the chance to receive a copy of Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse from the publisher, you bet your bippy I said yes. And it is every bit as laugh-out loud funny as the first book.

Llama wakes up one day and decides to make a big breakfast, but with big breakfasts, comes big messes (Llama, Llama, you clean as you go!). Not really on board with cleaning up, he instead creates the Replicator 3000 and invites his friend, Alpaca, who happens to love cleaning, over for lunch. You follow where I’m going? Oh yes. With a mighty ZOOP!, there are two Alpacas. But why stop there? Llama keeps pressing buttons, and Alpacas keep replicating, filled with scrubbing, sweeping, vigor. They take to the streets! They storm the town! No one is safe! The Alpacalypse is here! What will Llama do? And will he have learned his lesson by the end of the book? You have to read it for yourself, but trust me: this is comedy GOLD. Kiddo and I read this one out loud together, too; he cackles his way through both Llama and Alpaca’s voices, and I giggle through the narration. It’s never going to get old, mark me.

The artwork is just so much fun. Big-eyed Llama and Alpaca dance across the pages, their expressive faces really making the text come across even funnier, and the wild, cartoony, bold artwork just invites readers into the fun. Pizzas and cake decorate the endpapers. The only way this would be even more fun is to print out Llama coloring sheets and activities, courtesy of the author and illustrator.

I can’t wait to see what Llama has in store next. A must-add to your storytime collections and heck, your personal ones, even if you don’t have littles. Read it to yourself, you need a laugh today.

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade

Badgers, llamas, horrible people, and… Uncle Shawn?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Uncle Shawn and Bill and the Almost Entirely Unplanned Adventure, by A.L. Kennedy/Illustrated by Gemma Correll, (March 2018, Kane Miller), $5.99, ISBN: 9781610677400

Recommended for readers 7-10

Bill is a peaceful badger who finds himself kidnapped by two awful sisters, who intend to make him fight (even though badgers hate wearing prizefighter shorts) in their badger fighting ring. Turns out the awful sisters are the McGloones, relatives of the awful McGloone family. Seriously, the entire family is just awful; they’re filthy, rude, and all-around mean! Farmer McGloone and his wife also have four llamas held captive, and since they’re depressed and stressed (and ill-fed), they’re not producing enough yarn for the McGloone luxury socks that Mrs. McGloone wants to knit, so they plan to make the llamas into PIES. Such despair! What’s a friendly badger and four depressed llamas to do? Thank goodness for Uncle Shawn, a lovely eccentric who happens to love animals. He comes up with a plan to save everyone and live happily ever after (unless you’re an awful McGloone).

This book is bananas, and I mean that in the most loving sense of the word. Orginally published in the UK in 2017, it’s loaded with madcap, black Scottish humor (come on, they’re making a badger fight in a fight club and threatening to bake llamas) that will make readers laugh out loud when they’re not cringing. Seriously, some of the descriptions of the McGloones are pretty stomach-churning. Black and white cartoons throughout the book add to the laughs. Uncle Shawn and Bill and the Almost Entirely Unplanned Adventure is the first in a new series, so there’s more to come: the second book, Uncle Shawn and Bill and the Pajimminy Crimminy Unusual Adventure, just hit shelves in the UK. Give this to your Roald Dahl and David Walliams fans and expand their global literary palate!