Oh, No, Toto! - Hardcover

Tchana, Katrin Hyman; Pami, Louise Tchana

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0590465856 ISBN 13: 9780590465854

Publisher: Scholastic, 1997

Synopsis

Toto Gourmand, an insatiable two-year-old who wants every single thing he sees, invokes panic throughout his West African village when his grandmother, Big Mami, brings him to the bustling marketplace.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2. A toddler called Toto Gourmand (the "Hungry One") trails along after his grandmother at a Cameroon market while she shops for the ingredients for egussi soup. Toto climbs and grabs with a two year old's inquisitiveness. Told he may have one puffpuff, a type of doughnut treat, he looks for the largest, which of course is at the bottom of a pile that comes tumbling down. By the end of the shopping trip, he is covered in palm oil and sand. Once home, he eats up all the egussi soup and then falls asleep. The phrase "Oh, No, Toto!" is printed in soft pastels as a background for the text, making the refrain literally echo throughout the tale. Bootman's oil paintings have a dark palette of rich browns to capture the movements of this energetic child from precarious climbing to exhausted contentment. Although the story focuses on a toddler, the vocabulary is more appropriate for an older audience. Elements such as a glossary of Cameroonian foods, suggestions for other books set in the same country, and a recipe for soup make this book a good choice for children studying different countries. Like a spoonful of sugar, this tale is a sweet and easy way to get a taste of another culture.?Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

A neat slice of Cameroonian life. Terrible two-year-old Toto can't get enough to eat and can't stay out of trouble. When his grandmother, Big Mami, takes him to market, Toto's business as usual includes knocking over a pile of puffpuffs to get the choicest one from the bottom of the heap, tumbling into a vat of palm oil, and scarfing an entire plate of koki. ``Oh, no, Toto!'' is the refrain, but Big Mami knows that he is ``too little to know any better,'' and can't get mad at the little bundle. Ushered home by his exhausted grandmother, Toto tucks into a pot of egussi soup and inevitably falls asleep. Tchana and Pami breathe life into the West African market scene, introducing readers to some of the local foodstuffs (a glossary of terms is included, along with a recipe for soup) and sprinkle the text with patois: ``Mami Peter! How now?'' The strong oil paintings convey warmth, while Bootman shows a real knack for exaggerated gestures, e.g., Big Mami slapping her forehead at Toto's shenanigans, and even better, Toto's face--forlorn and covetous- -as he passes a bowl of vegetables on his way to the bath. A title that teaches through laughter and affection. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0590465856
• ISBN 13: 9780590465854
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Bootman Colin