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Nothing goes better with a bowl of hot carrot soup than freshly baked bread. So Monsieur Saguette, the hero of this winsome picture book by celebrated American children's author and illustrator Frank Asch, leaves his pot of soup to simmer and walks to the local bakery to buy a baguette. On his way home, the unassuming Saguette gets caught up in a series of daring rescues--saving a cat from a tree, a baby from an alligator, a man from a robber, and himself from an open manhole--all with the help of his crusty (er, make that trusty) baguette.
Asch, whose more than 60 books for children include such classics as I Can Roar Like a Lion and I Can Blink Like an Owl, as well as the popular Moonbear preschool series, uses rhyme and repetition to great effect. Each of Monsieur Saguette's adventures ends in the same way, with the resourceful little Frenchman tossing off his act of kindness ("'It was nothing,' said Monsieur Saguette. 'Goo goo,' said the baby"), while the internal rhyme of baguette with Saguette makes this amusing story pleasing to read yet never cloying. Asch's gentle illustrations (created in Photoshop) suggest a fanciful French townscape where it is not unusual to encounter a conductor leading a marching band with a baguette. Indeed, much of the charm of Monsieur Saguette and His Baguette comes from its Frenchness. Monsieur Saguette wears a jaunty beret, removes his neck scarf only once--to transform his loaf of bread into a flag for help--and shows a European reverence for the maxim "waste not, want not." Even his crumbs are put to good use: "'Now you too can enjoy my baguette,' he said to the birds on the street. 'Bon appétit!' And the birds replied, 'Tweet! Tweet!'" (Ages 3 to 7) --Lisa Alward
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1–In a series of highly improbable scenarios, Mr. Saguette performs daring feats–rescuing a stranded cat from a tree, foiling an attacking alligator and a robber, and escaping from a flooding sewer in the nick of time. In each instance, his trusty baguette provides a handy solution to the impending disaster. After the eventful walk home, Monsieur Saguette consumes his baguette with relish. For those who can suspend disbelief and see it for the spoof it is, this wacky tale with its kid-pleasing humor is sure to elicit giggles. Asch's computer-generated illustrations with their whimsical, flowing lines and soft pastel colors are the perfect accompaniment to this lighthearted romp through the streets of Paris.
Bon appétit!
–Laurie Edwards, West Shore School District, Camp Hill, PA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
