Don't Spill the Beans in Asheville!

The Asheville Citizen-Times says:

“Don't Spill the Beans” by Ian Schoenherr describes the series of friends to whom young bear whispers his secret. Bear is not supposed to tell the secret but it fairly bubbles out of him.

With just a few words per page, Schoenherr moves the story along quickly: “Tell Elephant.” “And Toucan, too.” “Talk to Auk and Kangaroo.”

For his illustrations, Schoenherr focuses on the animals. With their bright, eclectic outfits the animals stand out against the solid white background. Bear is sweet and endearing in his red overalls and yellow shirt. Hippo is stylish in his green corduroy overalls and flashy yellow shirt.

Each animal has large, gleaming expressive eyes. Somehow Schoenherr packs excitement, anticipation and secrecy into each sparkling eye.

Despite its surface simplicity, “Don't Spill the Beans” is a textured story full of language gems. The author's use of alliterative sounds and staccato rhymes gives the story a joyful cadence that lends itself to being read aloud: “Break it to Bat.” “Leak it to Beaver, to Lemur, to Cat!”

From the first page, kids will be able to guess what the secret is and will delight in being in on the secret for the entire story....