I have a thing for cartoon cows, which is why this book caught my attention. Prek-1 will enjoy this story about a cow named Pamela, who loves pears a little too much. Look forward to including this in a storytime! ( )

French and Whatley do it again! I didn't actually laugh out loud this time, but I was grinning the whole time. The expressions are marvelous - even on peripheral characters like the classmates and the wombat. And the surprise ending caught me out! ( )

Pamela is a cow who likes pears. She likes them a lot. She’ll eat them fresh or cooked, stewed or baked, red or green or yellow or brown. Unfortunately, she’s eating all the pears on the farm! Amy and her grandparents, who run the farm, are at their wits end. They tried tying Pamela to a tree, but she uprooted the tree. They tried fencing her in, but she dug herself out through a wombat hole! Finally, Amy gets the idea to serve Pamela a pear feast. Pamela eats and eats and eats until she’s eaten so many pears she’s queasy. The next day Pamela can’t stand the thought of another pear…good thing she’s spied an apple tree!

The text is printed in large font and the short sentences move the story along quickly. I love alliteration and there’s plenty in this story about pear loving Pamela. The painterly illustrations feature wonderful facial expressions, from humans and cows alike, and are set against a clean white background. Although Pamela doesn’t say a word, you can get a pretty good idea from the expressive illustrations.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-185-too-many-pears-by-jackie.ht...

Pamela the cow loves pears. She loves pears so much, that no one else can get any! Will any one else ever get any pears or will Pamela eat them all?

This is a very cute story of an adorable cow who loves pears. The illustrations were very well done; I loved Pamela the cow’s heart! This book is a fun, simple read for young children. The repetition makes it easy to pick out the oft-repeated words for the new reader, but it also offers some more difficult words—like wombat—for the emerging reader. This makes a great book to read out loud to children or for the beginning reader to tackle themselves. ( )

reviewed on www.vegbooks.org
http://vegbooks.org/index.php/2010/06/03/too-many-pears/

Pamela the clever cow will stop at nothing for her favorite fruit: pears. This is a cute story about a determined cow who overcomes all efforts to restrain her. The people (from whom Pamela steals the pears) try various methods of containing Pamela, without luck. Finally, the young girl Amy outsmarts Pamela with an idea that resolves her pear addiction.

Jackie French creates a fun story with unique characters and an unusual dilemma. Bruce Whatley’s illustrations are hilarious and expressive and understandably why this book was a winner of a 2004 Benjamin Franklin Award under the children’s picture book category. My preschooler loved the illustrations and I especially liked the cute little details like Pamela’s facial expressions and the cow spots in shapes of pears and hearts.

Ages 3-8. ( )