Lou

by Breanna Carzoo (Author) Breanna Carzoo (Illustrator)

Lou
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Don't miss this humorous and heartwarming picture book by debut creator Breanna Carzoo about an unlikely everyday hero: a fire hydrant! Perfect for fans of The Good Egg and The Bad Seed.

Meet Lou. Lou has an important job . . . as the neighborhood toilet for dogs on their walks.

Useful as he may be, he gets the feeling that deep down inside, there might be more to him than that. He just doesn't seem to know exactly what yet. When disaster strikes, will Lou find out what he's made of and save the day?

From debut creator Breanna Carzoo comes a charming and funny story that reminds us to never let anyone--including yourself--hold you back from sharing your gifts with the world.Kids will fall in love with Lou and his journey of self-discovery as he saves the day from a fire that breaks out in an apartment building nearby. You'll never be able to look at a fire hydrant the same way again!

Select format:
Hardcover
$19.99

ALA/Booklist

Carzoo's hilarious debut marries a clever conceit with irresistible character design (an object with big eyes and little mouth) to charm readers and impart a nice story of self-discovery. Sharp cut-paper collage brings Lou's street to life, with a variety of pups in amusing poses and bright colors set off by white backdrops. Great fun, sure to make a splash at story time. 

Kirkus

Starred Review
A truly exceptional read. Children, librarians, educators, and caregivers will love returning to this book over and over. Gee whiz, this book is No. 1!

Publishers Weekly

"My name is Lou, and I'm... a toilet," announces the red, goggle-eyed fire hydrant protagonist of this debut work. Cut-paper art shows a long queue of pooches, their owners portrayed with various abilities and skin tones, eying Lou. (One orange and white dog stands on crossed hind legs and holds its crotch in a pose that should be instantly familiar to any kid who's ever had the gotta-go wriggles.) "All day, every day," Lou says, these dogs "SNIFF and TWIST and TWIRL and LIFT," resulting in "well, you know"--a spread devoted entirely to a bright yellow pee stream shows it crossing the book's gutter and hitting the ground with an impressive visual splash. Understandably, Lou hopes that finding a use in life will mean something more, a wish that's granted when a fire breaks out in a nearby building. A firefighter, led by a keen-nosed dalmatian, hooks up a hose to Lou and sends forth a torrent of water to save the building: "WHOA! WHOOSH! WOO HOO!" Carzoo uses direct, heartfelt prose and toylike images to infuse a quotidian object with winning personality and genuine poignancy--it won't be a stretch for readers to identify with this small, put-upon character who discovers a bigger sense of purpose. Ages 4-8. Agent: Adria Goetz, Martin Literary. (June)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Beyond the obvious and sweet message that everyone contains more potential for greatness than meets the eye, viewers may think twice about life-saving infrastructure that blends into the sidelines when out on a walk with their pups. — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780063054059
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
HarperCollins
Publication date
July 12, 2022
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Emotions
Self-esteem
Humorous fiction
Self-esteem in children
Emotions in children
Hydrants

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