AUGUST 2022 - AudioFile
Married authors Zadie Smith and Nick Laird deliver a delightful, hilarious, and heartfelt narration of their debut children’s book. Kit opens a birthday surprise, a guinea pig dressed in a judo outfit. Kit has many pets, and they find the oddly dressed surprise off-putting. After several misadventures, the surprise receives a name; thus, she finally feels loved and accepted in her new home. Smith gives each character, animal and human, a distinct voice. She delivers various accents to depict different geographic regions and social classes. Laird is also amusing with his deadpan delivery of the main text, which juxtaposes beautifully with Smith’s voices. Smith shines as the voices of all the characters; she could become a professional narrator for children's books. The production’s music and sound effects enhance the story to great effect. A.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
04/11/2022
A pet seeks belonging in this familiar-feeling narrative, a picture book debut from married collaborators Smith and Laird as well as illustrator Fox. On Kit’s birthday, “her present was a soft, small, sleepy surprise”—a guinea pig dressed in a judo outfit (“I’m quite into judo,” she explains). But when Kit, portrayed with brown skin, heads out for a bit, the other pets express skepticism about the Surprise. “Oh, she’s definitely an oddball,” declares Dora the cat; “If you’re not a cat or a dog or a bird, you’re an oddball.” When the Surprise tries to impress by tying balloons to her waist and flying, she floats right out of the window—and, fortuitously, onto the balcony of an Auntie Mame–esque neighbor, red-haired Emily Brookstein, who states, “Life’s too short not to be an oddball.” After a splendid afternoon of eating macaroons, playing cards, and feeling seen, the Surprise is returned to her owner, who at last gives her a name: Maud. Finally feeling secure about herself and Kit’s love, Maud makes a place for herself among the other pets (they even apologize and ask for judo lessons). It’s a tonally frewheeling picture book whose chatty narration and dialogue are anchored by precise, fine-lined art and vivid characterizations. Ages 3–7. (June)
From the Publisher
Raves for The Surprise:
"[A] delightful tale for little oddballs everywhere."—Entertainment Weekly
"Adorable and sweet...A fun story of friendship and acceptance."—Kirkus Reviews
"This charming story embraces friendship, self-discovery, and fun. For its relatable message, it would be a good addition to a classroom, library, or school counselor’s anti-bullying picture book collection."—School Library Journal
"The wholesome conversations between Emily and Maud about being different spur Maud’s growth, as she moves from defeated self-doubt to joyful confidence, giving the hopeful message that 'life’s too short not to be an oddball.'"—BCCB
School Library Journal
07/22/2022
K-Gr 2—A guinea pig wearing a judo outfit is Kit's surprise birthday present. When Kit leaves her apartment to go to school, the new pet, also known as the Surprise, finds her differences are being judged and are creating a disparaging conversation among the other pets in the household; Dora a cat, Paul a parrot, and Bob a hard-of-hearing pug. The established pets quickly label her as odd and ignore her. The Surprise, wanting to fit in, tries to copy the other pets in their appearance, style, and physical abilities only to find her efforts cause her to be blown out of the apartment's window by an inconvenient gust of wind. Luckily, she is rescued by a sympathetic neighbor and oddball herself, Emily Brookstein. The two spend the day together and the Surprise discovers that being an oddball can be a good thing. Emily returns the new pet to Kit when school is over and the Surprise learns she has been given the name Maud. Maud is summarily accepted by the other pets and teaches them judo. This simple story of rejection then acceptance is sweet but predicable. Fox's illustrations boasting a soft watercolor-like palette are complex and unassuming simultaneously. Her characters are expressive, while the setting is filled with delightful detail and energy. VERDICT This charming story embraces friendship, self-discovery, and fun. For its relatable message, it would be a good addition to a classroom, library, or school counselor's anti-bullying picture book collection.—Lynne Stover
Kirkus Reviews
2022-03-30
A guinea pig who is a surprise birthday gift learns that it’s OK to be an oddball.
The Surprise is sleepy and dressed in a martial arts uniform. She wakes when Kit, the Black child to whom she was gifted, has left for school, and the other pets surround her. Paul, a bird; Dora, a cat; and Bob, a pug, don’t know what she is or what she does, and they conclude that “If you’re not a cat or a dog or a bird, you’re an oddball.” After being ostracized, the Surprise tries to make herself more like the other pets, but the flying device she creates carries her out the window. Blown by a gust of wind, she finds herself at the window of another oddball, who shares macaroons and a game of cards until it is time for the Surprise to return to Kit. When Kit hugs her and introduces her to the other pets by name, the others stop giving her a hard time and welcome her into the fold. Smith and Laird’s picture-book debut is adorable and sweet, if surprisingly ordinary; their exploration of the eternal theme of fitting in offers amusing details but no unique angle. Fox’s illustrations, in a soft palette, add personality, relying on compositions that emphasize both action and quieter moments of connection. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A fun story of friendship and acceptance that treads familiar territory. (Picture book. 4-8)
