Hornbeam All In

by Cynthia Rylant, Arthur Howard (Illustrator)

Overview

It’s three stories in one picture book as Hornbeam the moose embarks on adventures with his friends in this first installment in the series from the creative team behind the Gooseberry Park, Motor Mouse, and the Mr. Putter & Tabby books!

Hornbeam is a charismatic moose who loves puzzles and potato salad and, most of all, his friends. Come join the pals on their many adventures!

In “Eureka and the Picnic,” Hornbeam’s best goose friend, Eureka, invites him to a picnic. Hornbeam is looking forward to the potato salad, but with hundreds of geese relatives looking to chat, will he ever get a bite?

In “Sleeping at Cuddy’s House,” Hornbeam sleeps over at his friend Cuddy the bull’s house. Cuddy is happy to have him but finds out Hornbeam is a very loud snorer. Cuddy tries everything to stop the snoring, but to no avail. What is a sleepy bull to do?

In “At the Pool with Adorabelle,” Hornbeam, Eureka, and Cuddy go to cheer on their skunk friend Adorabelle at her swim race. Hornbeam can’t swim, so Adorabelle offers to give him swimming lessons. With some help from his pals, can Hornbeam face his fears and brave the pool?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665924818
Publisher:	Beach Lane Books
Publication date:	12/05/2023
Series:	The Hornbeam Books
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	80,073
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 8 Years

About the Author

Cynthia Rylant is the author of more than 100 books for young people, including the beloved Henry and Mudge, Annie and Snowball, Brownie & Pearl, Motor Mouse, and Mr. Putter & Tabby series. Her novel Missing May received the Newbery Medal. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Arthur Howard is the illustrator of the Mr. Putter & Tabby series, Gooseberry Park series, and Motor Mouse series by Cynthia Rylant; Goatilocks and the Three Bears by Erica S. Perl; Noodle & Lou by Liz Garton Scanlon; and his own picture books including My Creepy Valentine, My Dream Dog, and When I Was Five. He lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/02/2023

A cautious moose named Hornbeam stars in this warmly rendered series kickoff comprising three gently comedic stories by Rylant and Howard, cocreators of the Motor Mouse books. Expressive colored pencil, watercolor, and gouache spreads capture Hornbeam’s reactions, zeroing in throughout the first tale on the moose’s apprehension as he and friend Eureka the goose head to a picnic that features more warmth, but less potato salad, than Hornbeam had anticipated. The protagonist sleeps—and snores—through most of the second story: when Hornbeam’s furnace stops working during a snowstorm, his overnight host Cuddy the cow graciously chooses to make the best of a sleepless night. The final tale traces the ripples created when Hornbeam’s skunk friend Adorabelle, an enthusiastic swimmer, insists that he learn to swim. In a moving moment that renders this story particularly strong, Hornbeam bravely “put a foot into the water. Then another foot. Then his whole moose self. Hornbeam was all in.” His persistence, and his friends’ support, earns him a skill and gives him something to be proud of. The creators plunge into the stories with characters and situations that are immediately relatable, and readers will follow Hornbeam wherever he goes. Ages up to 8. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

"Here’s the first volume of a welcome new picture-book series with amiable characters and amusing story lines."

7/1/2023 - *STARRED REVIEW* Booklist

★ 07/01/2023

Gr 1–4—From the team that brought you "Gooseberry Park" and "Mr. Putter and Tabby" comes a new set of friends ready to charm beginning readers. In this book told in three chapters, readers get to know Hornbeam the moose and his friends, Eureka the goose, Cuddy the cow, and Adorabelle the skunk. Eureka takes Hornbeam on a picnic, where Hornbeam is hoping for potato salad and ends up meeting a lot of relatives. Cuddy the cow helps out when Hornbeam's heat goes out. Adorabelle introduces Hornbeam to the joys of swimming. The artwork perfectly connects young readers to the text; watercolor over ink drawings will be familiar to some readers of the other series. These new characters have so much personality and pizazz that readers will seek the earlier books out, too. VERDICT An excellent new series of beginning chapter books.—Debbie Tanner

School Library Journal

★ 2023-09-23
An early reader with a big heart.

Hornbeam, an anthropomorphic moose, has many animal friends. In this series opener, which consists of three stories, Rylant uses controlled vocabulary to highlight a trio of especially important friends. The first is Eureka, a goose, who brings Hornbeam to a picnic that turns out to be a great big goose family reunion. In fact, it’s so big that Hornbeam humorously misses out on enjoying much-desired potato salad (giving the last bite to a gosling), since he’s preoccupied with meeting each individual bird. In the second story, Hornbeam’s furnace breaks, and his friend Cuddy (a bull) lets him spend the night. When Hornbeam’s snoring keeps Cuddy awake all night, the good-natured bull displays the same generosity of spirit that Hornbeam did in the first story. Finally, in the third tale, Hornbeam, Eureka, and Cuddy go to the pool to cheer on their skunk friend, Adorabelle, at a swim meet. During the course of events, Hornbeam discloses that he cannot swim, and his friends lovingly encourage him to overcome his anxieties to learn. As in previous Rylant–Howard collaborations, the illustrations ramp up the gentle humor in the text, with funny details like the quadruped moose wearing shoes only on his hind hooves, bumper stickers on animals’ vehicles, and especially snazzy attire for the geese (berets, turtlenecks, glasses).

All in for this dazzling series starter! (Early reader. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews