School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-A dark-skinned youngster paints handprint turkeys, decorating them with sequins, feathers, glitter, and paper scraps. After he collects them in a Popsicle-stick pen, a cartoon fox threatens the flock, which is saved when the artist turns a fist covered with purple paint into a stumbling block, allowing the birds to flee. When it is safe, they are lured back home through the child's creativity with corn kernels. Wilson-Max's artistic modeling on these spreads will inspire future turkey makers to explore new media. Nikola-Lisa keeps sentences simple and enthused so that the story's appeal will not be limited to Thanksgiving's traditional art sessions. More mature listeners will notice the amusing connection between the artist's real-life dog and the naughty fox.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
A boy makes his handprint with paint, then creates four colorful turkey collages. When the turkeys come alive, he saves them from Foxy the fox by setting them free but then must lure them back to their Popsicle-stick pen. The whimsical illustrations for this clever, imaginative book feature handprint turkeys scurrying around on legs made of toothpicks. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A young African-American boy, with the help of his dog Foxy, brings his Thanksgiving crafts to life in this unusual story about art and imagination. The boy starts out making a hand-print turkey, an American art-class staple, but then decides to populate his big piece of taped-down paper with more turkeys to keep that one company. Soon he has to glue down a pen made out of Popsicle sticks to keep his brood safe from a hungry fox: "Go away, Foxy the fox! You're frightening my turkeys! GOBBLE-GOBBLE-GOBBLE!" Just in time, the boy deters the fox with a big rocky obstacle--a purple fist print. The turkeys are safe for the moment, but when he sets them free to protect them from the next attack, he misses them and decides to lure them back with corn (photographs of actual kernels glued onto paint). All this produces the delightful effect of the story-building before the reader's eyes. Wilson-Max's simple, flat, boldly colorful paintings cleverly reflect the work-in-progress nature of this fresh, original offering. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 1. Look! There's a turkey. A boy uses paint, feathers, buttons, sequins, and toothpicks for legs to make handprint turkeys. A pen of Popsicle sticks keeps the birds safe until a fox appears; then the action shifts into high gear as the boy steps in to save these handmade turkeys. Right at a preschooler's level, the artwork, featuring Wilson-Max's signature African American boy, has humor as well as momentum, especially in the scene showing the turkeys turned loose and gobble-gobbling over a bright orange, two-page spread. This clever mixing of art and a spot-on text provides a fun story as well as a surefire craft idea that kids will want to try. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2004 Booklist
