JULIUS ANTEATER, MISUNDERSTOOD
by Lynn Rowe Reed & illustrated by Lynn Rowe Reed
No wonder Julius Anteater is misunderstood. For one thing, for a member of the order Edentata (meaning, no-teeth!), he looks a bit like a cross between a toothy crocodile and a dachshund. For another thing, Julius is looking for tasty ants in all the wrong places, such as in Mr. Green’s toupee at school and at the zoo where a truncated “Elephants” sign spells “ants” to him (“I had a hunch / I’d get ants for lunch”). After Julius is kicked out of the zoo for burrowing (for ants), his police escorts soon begin to chase after a bank robber, dragging the anteater along. In the kerfluffle, Julius apprehends the criminal (asks him about ants, actually) and becomes a town hero, but to the monomaniacal ant-seeker, the glory and mouthful of greenbacks mean nothing. Poor Julius, misunderstood again. Pasted-on photographs of plastic animals, Mr. Green’s toupee, peanuts and more enliven colorful, childlike paintings with Maira Kalman–like characters. Anyone with a healthy appetite for nonsense (if not ants) will relish this rhyming madcap adventure. (Picture book. 4-7)