Ice Cream & Dinosaurs (Groovy Joe Series #1)

by Eric Litwin, Tom Lichtenheld (Illustrator)

Overview

Meet Groovy Joe, a fun-lovin', guitar-strummin', doggy-ice-cream-eatin' pup as he wrangles three hungry dinosaurs and soon has them singing, grooving, and sharing!

Groovy Joe was living the dream.He had a spoon and tub of doggy ice cream.And he started to sing: Love my doggy ice cream! Love my doggy ice cream!Eric Litwin, author of the bestselling and beloved Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, and bestselling artist Tom Lichtenheld, illustrator of Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, have created a captivating new canine character who will groove his way into readers' hearts and have them grooving and giggling all the while. In his debut adventure, Groovy Joe faces three roaring dinosaurs hungry for his doggy ice cream! Oh no! But Joe knows just what to do and soon enough he has them all sharing while moving and singing along. Signature rhyme, repetition, and musical writing style, combined with wild and witty illustrations come together to create an unforgettable new character who embodies positivity, creativity, and kindness. Groovy Joe is here, ready to get groovy!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545883788
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/30/2016
Series:	Groovy Joe Series , #1
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	153,704
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD330L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Eric Litwin is a #1 New York Times bestselling author who merges music and early literacy together. He is the author of the first four Pete the Cat picture books and the exciting new musical series The Nuts. Eric's books have sold more than 6.5 million copies and won 18 state and national awards, including a Theodor Geisel Seuss Honor Award. Eric is a popular performing artist who plays guitar, sings, tells stories, and brings books to life. Visit him at ericlitwin.com.
Tom Lichtenheld is the illustrator of New York Times bestsellers Duck! Rabbit!, Exclamation Mark, Steam Train, Dream Train, Shark vs. Train, Mighty, Mighty Construction Site, and Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, which has been on the bestseller list for over three years. He has also written and illustrated a number of books, including What Are You So Grumpy About?, Cloudette, and E-mergency, a Publishers Weekly and Boston Globe Best Book of 2011. For more information, visit him at tomlichtenheld.com.

Editorial Reviews

05/02/2016
First-time collaborators Litwin (Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes) and Lichtenheld (Friendshape) inject raucous rhymes and humor into their lesson about sharing: it’s the sugar that helps the medicine go down. Groovy Joe is a laid-back dog with golden fur. When readers first see him, he’s strumming his guitar, serenading a bird. A delicious treat arrives (“Groovy Joe was living the dream/ He had a spoon and a tub of doggy ice cream”), but before he can dig in, a little dinosaur stomps in: “He put on a bib! He pulled up a chair. What did Joe say? ‘It’s awesome to share!’ ” Two larger dinosaurs appear in succession, but Joe’s ready to share with them all. Not even the end of the ice cream stops the fun. This celebration of sharing has everything: an ice cream–themed refrain for kids to shout out, big stomping dinosaurs who can also cut a rug, and a lovable furry dog. A free reading/singing of the story is available online, offering fodder for boisterous readalouds at libraries, daycare, or school. Ages 3–5. Agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Agency. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

2017 Bridge to Reading Picture Book Award Winner! "First-time collaborators Litwin (Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes) and Lichtenheld (Friendshape) inject raucous rhymes and humor into their lesson about sharing: it's the sugar that helps the medicine go down." — Publishers Weekly"Children will want to move and groove along with the mischievous and playful dog and hishefty and humorous friends in this colorful rhyming story, sure to capture lots of attention." — Booklist“[A] catchy tune, dancing dinosaurs, and strawberry ice cream are an enticing combination.” — KirkusPraise for Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes"I could not believe how simple yet creative it was... Eric, inspired by folk songs, fun, and folksy folks, is a guitar-strumming, song-singing, banjo-picking, tale-telling, harmonica-blowing guy." — Children's LiteraturePraise for The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nut House"Children will ask for it again and again." — School Library JournalPraise for Exclamation Mark!*"How does an exclamation mark learn his purpose? Readers will giggle and cheer to see the process."— Kirkus, starred review*"This picture book deserves a !!!"— Booklist, starred review*"This one is a must-have!!!"— School Library Journal, starred review

From the Publisher

07/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—This title has all the elements of a classic Litwin story: fun characters, a heartwarming message, and a catchy song. It also has things that kids love: dogs, dinosaurs, and ice cream. "Groovy Joe saw something yummy. Groovy Joe started rubbing his tummy." So begins the story of Groovy Joe, a guitar-strumming dog who has found himself with some delicious ice cream. So delicious that he has to sing, "Love my doggy ice cream! Love my doggy ice cream!" But his crooning draws the attention of a little dinosaur, a big dinosaur, and a huge dinosaur. They all take out spoons, put on bibs, and pull up chairs. And of course Groovy Joe exclaims, "It's awesome to share!" But what happens when the ice cream runs out and all the dinosaurs are glaring at Joe? Lichtenheld's illustrations are adorable and give all the characters personalities. VERDICT The story is fun and repetitive without being annoying, which makes it a good choice for storytimes, and there's a great message about sharing. A welcome purchase.—Paige Garrison, Augusta Richmond County Library System, GA

School Library Journal

2016-06-01
The author of the first few entries in the wildly popular Pete the Cat series debuts a new series starring Groovy Joe, a guitar-playing, ice cream-loving hound dog. Groovy Joe is rocking out with his pal, a squirrel with sunglasses, as the pair gets ready to share a tub of Haagen Dogs ice cream. Suddenly a little dinosaur roars into the room, putting on a bib and pulling out a spoon in expectation of a scoop of ice cream of his own. Groovy Joe introduces the story's refrain, "It's awesome to share!" as he dishes up some strawberry ice cream for his visitor. But then a big dinosaur bursts in, followed by a huge dinosaur (the only specified female character), who polishes off the rest of the ice cream. Groovy Joe, a calm character like his predecessor Pete the Cat, takes matters in stride, turns over the empty ice cream tub, and uses it as a drum. The whole crew dances and sings a song about sharing and loving their doggy ice cream before marching off into the distance to dream up further entries in the series. Bold illustrations in watercolor and colored pencil are by Lichtenheld, illustrator of Sherri Duskey Rinker's Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site (2011). He clearly knows how to create captivating characters with engaging expressions and amusing antics. As with the Pete the Cat books, a musical version of the text can be downloaded from the publisher's website. Joe isn't quite as cool as Pete, but a catchy tune, dancing dinosaurs, and strawberry ice cream are an enticing combination. Here's hoping Groovy Joe soon meets a female counterpart—perhaps Hep Hilda or Beatnik Betty? (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews