The Thingamajig

February 1, 2024
Thing-a-ma-jig? Who-zee-whats-it? Shis-moo? Hoo-pull-dee-pewp? Words such as these are found throughout this amusing story of a little elephant trying to track down an object lost by a bigger elephant (perhaps its parent). The grown-up pachyderm gives the child a bottle of water and then starts looking for the bottle cap--except it can't remember the name of the item: "I can't find the...thing-a-ma-jig." The little one runs off to look and asks other animals for help. They haven't seen a thing-a-ma-jig, though they have lost objects of their own: A bird has misplaced its "hoo-zeewots-it," and a snail is seeking its "hoo-pull-dee-pewp." Other creatures join in. Eventually it becomes apparent that they're all looking for the same thing--the bottle cap! Backmatter explains that the words used throughout are variations on whatchamacallits (terms we use when we can't remember what we're trying to say), all in different languages, from Zulu (intazinga) to Japanese (naninani) to Irish English (yokemebob). Pronunciations are included. Between the humorous words and the gloriously bold and childlike illustrations created from collaged photographs and hand-cut rubber stamps, this will be a wonderful, infectiously popular read-aloud for young children in group settings or one-on-one. A reminder that everyone the world over needs a funny word or two when memory fails, even elephants. (Picture book. 3-6)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2024
There's a lot happening in this clever picture book with an all-dialogue text that introduces the nonsense words used when we can't remember the proper name for something. An adult elephant "can't find the...I forget the word...the...thing-a-ma-jig," so their little one confidently dashes off with a magnifying glass to track it down. Forgetfulness is in the air: a small yellow bird is missing its "hoo-zee-wots-it that makes thunder" and offers to help search. As they investigate, more animals (and stand-in words) join them, including a slug that can't find its "hoo-pull-dee-pewp. It kept the sun off my back" and a squirrel on the hunt for "the shis-moo I was using to carry things from here to there." Is there "a thief in the neighborhood"? Alexander's (You Rule!, rev. 7/23) deceptively simple illustrations, rendered in collaged photographs and hand-cut rubber stamps, are composed of bold primary and secondary colors that pop against ample white space. The expressive animal characters add humor and bring this who(didn't)dunit to life. Three double-page spreads provide a visual hint to what's really happening: the thing-a-ma-jig, hoo-zee-wots-it, shis-moo, etc., are all the same blue bottle cap, which began its journey through the neighborhood when the elephant left it on a tree stump. Spoiler alert: The cap is returned to its bottle, and together the group finds "something for everyone" to replace the multipurpose item, a process that will have young listeners turning back to the beginning to spot subtly placed details in the illustrations. A final spread provides the language of origin for the nonsense words employed in the text. Kitty Flynn

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2024
There's a lot happening in this clever picture book with an all-dialogue text that introduces the nonsense words used when we can't remember the proper name for something. An adult elephant "can't find the...I forget the word...the...thing-a-ma-jig," so their little one confidently dashes off with a magnifying glass to track it down. Forgetfulness is in the air: a small yellow bird is missing its "hoo-zee-wots-it that makes thunder" and offers to help search. As they investigate, more animals (and stand-in words) join them, including a slug that can't find its "hoo-pull-dee-pewp. It kept the sun off my back" and a squirrel on the hunt for "the shis-moo I was using to carry things from here to there." Is there "a thief in the neighborhood"? Alexander's (You Rule!, rev. 7/23) deceptively simple illustrations, rendered in collaged photographs and hand-cut rubber stamps, are composed of bold primary and secondary colors that pop against ample white space. The expressive animal characters add humor and bring this who(didn't)dunit to life. Three double-page spreads provide a visual hint to what's really happening: the thing-a-ma-jig, hoo-zee-wots-it, shis-moo, etc., are all the same blue bottle cap, which began its journey through the neighborhood when the elephant left it on a tree stump. Spoiler alert: The cap is returned to its bottle, and together the group finds "something for everyone" to replace the multipurpose item, a process that will have young listeners turning back to the beginning to spot subtly placed details in the illustrations. A final spread provides the language of origin for the nonsense words employed in the text.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)