What's up, maloo?

by Genevieve Godbout

Hardcover, 2020

Status

Available

Publication

Plattsburgh, NY : Tundra Books of Northern New York, 2020.

Description

"Maloo the kangaroo has lost his hop. Can his friends help him find it again? This sweet picture book explores the idea of sadness and the importance of friendship through ups and downs. No other kangaroo can hop like Maloo! But one day Maloo's friends find him stepping instead of hopping. What's wrong, Maloo? His pals look for ways to help Maloo regain the spring in his step. With patience, support and a little "hop" from his friends, Maloo gets his bounce back."--

User reviews

LibraryThing member justreign
I absolutely adore Genevieve Godbout. Her art is so nostalgic, yet modern. I can't get enough of it. This is her first picture book where she both wrote and illustrated. It's absolutely a promising start of her author-ship career and I can't wait for more from her!

This was a very gentle book about
Show More
depression, maybe for children in the subject, but completely applicable for adults as well. I adored how Maloo has a faint gray cloud around his head as a physical representation of his mood, and how his friends gently ask him how they can help. When Maloo doesn't respond, they simply accompany him until they find a way to gently nudge him from his mood.

I love it! (And wow, I used "gentle" a lot in this review, but it fits! I couldn't think of a better word!)
Show Less
LibraryThing member keristars
Maloo is a kangaroo who is wonderful at hopping, but one day just stops. Maloo's friends try to cheer them up with their favorite things, but nothing seems to work until they find a sheet and use it to toss Maloo into the sky - it's just like hopping high, and Maloo finds themself having fun and
Show More
smiling again.

The artwork is absolutely beautiful. It's colored pencils or pastels, or digital effects to create the soft textures and rich color, which Godbout uses in her other picture books. Even before we started reading, my sister and I both remarked on the beautiful drawings, which is something we loved in Good Night, Anne, also illustrated by Godbout. My three year old nephew didn't comment on the artwork, but he was able to pick up the mood of each drawing, and he could identify the animals.

There isn't a lot of text to read, and what there is can be a little removed from the illustrations or repetitive. Many spreads have no text at all. This made it a little bit difficult to read the book with my nephew, but I used the opportunity to describe the story, then ask him what he thinks is happening and how the animals are feeling. The emotional arc of Maloo being sad for no particular reason, but cheering up because their friends love them and keep trying, is vividly depicted even without words. The attempts to cheer are silly and fun - the wombat cooks Maloo a cake in their burrow house, the crocodile takes Maloo swimming - complete with pool floats!, and the koala uses an electric fan to make Maloo seem to fly.

This might be a more rewarding read for slightly older children, who can understand more nuance in emotions - or for talking to them about nuances. My three year old is practicing and learning emotions, but he was a little bewildered by the lack of explanation for Maloo's sadness, and was more interested in the animals themselves. This is a great way to introduce depression or other sadnesses that don't have a cause, and we'll probably bring the book back out over the next few years to talk about it (especially since we love the artwork!), but our three year old might be a little young.

One side effect of the repetitive, sparse text is that the three year old very quickly picked up on the repeated words and started to identify which letter clusters should match the word "hop". He hasn't yet figured out how writing and reading work, but he definitely can see that "hop!" shows up a lot, and matches when I said the word out loud. I imagine that early readers would have some success and pride at being able to read the book themselves.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jayceebee
A cute picture book I received as part of LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. Thanks, #librarything and @tundrabooks. Gorgeous illustrations and a cute story best for ages 0-3.
LibraryThing member sszkutak
What's Up, Maloo is a beautifully illustrated and simply written book about a kangaroo who does not feel like hopping anymore. His friends try to get a little pep back in his step but they are finding that it is difficult.

The images are absolutely gorgeous throughout this book and I loved them.
Show More
They are the reason for the number of stars I have given this book, because the story was not really all there for me.

Maloo all of a sudden stops hopping, there is no further information in the test of the story... just Hop Hop.. nothing. Nothing happens, and that is fine, but nothing is explained either. The young reader is not even told he doesn't feel like hopping anymore. Maloo seems depressed, very depressed and his friends only try to address the hopping but not whatever cause the lack of hopping.

I think this could have been a wonderful book about feelings and how sometimes you feel sad and don't want to play, but instead it just fell a little short for me.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jwyss
I received a free copy of What’s Up, Maloo? by Geneviève Godbout in exchange for an honest review.

Geneviève Godbout is more known for her illustrations; this book is her entree into picture book story writing. A simple yet lovely tale of a little kangaroo who could no longer hop. On heavy white
Show More
pages, each page is beautifully illustrated. As soon as Maloo’s hop goes away, a gray cloud appears hovering over the kangaroo’s head. The cloud persists in its presence as friends try to help Maloo rediscover how to hop and return to his former self. Finally, after many attempts, the friends succeed. Maloo hops away from the gloom and the cloud floats away.

Few words are written on each page. Beginner readers will find this book rewarding as they read the text as well as the pictures.
Show Less
LibraryThing member nicole_a_davis
Sweet illustrations of Australian animals that my son liked, but the story itself was very sparse. I wonder how much he would pick up on it on his own without further discussion? It is nice to have a prompt to open that discussion about feelings, but I think a stronger plot would have a bigger
Show More
impact.
Show Less
LibraryThing member debf56
Cute book for very young children. The illustrations are wonderful, colorful and eye catching. Teaches children about friends helping friends. I would think this is a book for infant to toddler. They would enjoy the pictures and following Maloo the Kangaroo while his friends help him to get hopping
Show More
again.
I won this book and I am giving my honest opinion and review
Show Less
LibraryThing member aratiel
Maloo the Kangaroo seems to have lost his hop...will he be able to get it back with the help of his friends? Lovely illustrations, sparse text. It is never entirely clear why Maloo stops being able to jump in the first place, nor why he spontaneously gets it back. The action scenes seem a little
Show More
overly complicated for younger kids, but older kids will enjoy helping you tell the story.

Thank you to Tundra Books and LibraryThing for the advanced copy of this book!*
*This did not affect my review or rating.
Show Less
LibraryThing member alliepascal
Have you seen Genevieve Godbout's art?! So beautifully colored and textured, so utterly sweet. The story is understated and also very sweet. Maloo can't hop because of a "fog" surrounding his head--I interpret this as being a literal depiction of brain fog and/or depression, but a general
Show More
sadness/low mood works too. Maloo's friends try to help get rid of the fog, but it doesn't magically disappear; over time though, with their companionship and patience, the fog eases away and Maloo remembers how to hop. Adore this picture book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lilibrarian
Maloo the Kangaroo has lost his hop, and is sadly stepping through his days. Can friends help him start wanting to hop again?
LibraryThing member CTW
This simple story features a bouncy kangaroo named Maloo who loses his/her/their bounce one day when a gray cloud descends - apparently representing sadness or depression. This is depicted nicely in the first few pages as the energetic text ("Hop! Hop!") becomes uncertain ("Hop?"), beside an
Show More
illustration of the clearly downcast kangaroo. The rest of the story involves Maloo's encounters with other animal characters who at first attempt to help by using fans (presumably hoping to blow the bouncy animal aloft again?), then by using a large blanket to toss Maloo in the air - until the kangaroo successfully bounces on its own accord once more. In the final spread, all the animals celebrate by hopping off together ("Hop-hop-hurray! Let's all hop like Maloo!"), with the non-kangaroos on pogo sticks.

While I liked the premise, I felt the execution here was somewhat lacking. The illustrations are expressive and appealing, but I didn't quite follow the internal logic of the story - why fans blowing the kangaroo into the air would be unhelpful but a blanket tossing them into the air somehow would be. At first I assumed the author was setting up a story about needing to address the underlying cause of Maloo's sadness rather than just the superficial lack of bounciness, a bit like telling someone to smile rather than talking about what's making them sad. But instead, the second attempt at a superficial solution was actually successful, and we never do find out "what's up" with Maloo. Overall, I found this ending unsatisfying and lacking the positive mental health message I was hoping for.
Show Less

Language

Original publication date

2018

ISBN

0735266646 / 9780735266643

Barcode

19
Page: 0.1754 seconds