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The Adventures of Lovable Lobo, #3:  Lobo Finds Bigfoot

by C. L. Murphy

music by Catherine Pualani

4 Stars

Website:  There’s something in the forest that smells very different to Lobo in his third adventure.  What could it be?  He discovers Squatchy, a little Bigfoot!  Squatchy leads Lobo and Roxy, to a clearing in the forest where they witness the Squatchy Stomp.  Stomp along to the beat just like the Bigfoots do!  Find Squatchy when he hides in the trees and learn the secret Bigfoot signal!  BELIEVE!

First Sentence:  “What are we going to do today?”  Roxy asked his friend Lobo.

Synopsis:   Lobo and his friend Roxy, a black crow, are walking in the forest having a great day taking in the smells.  Suddenly, lobo smells something strange.  What could it be?  Roxy, speaking in her double-tongue, says she smells a skunk.  Nope, that is not it.  Roxy also smells stinkbugs, flowers, and a tree.  Lobo smells a new strange smell.  Roxy asks in double-tongue,

“What could it be?  What could it be?  Caw, caw!”

Lobo checks closer to the tree and gets a strong whiff of the smell.  A squeaky-voiced, brown little thing appears.  “You must be smelling me.”  Sure enough, that is the odd smell.  The little creature introduces himself as Squatchy, a little Bigfoot.  A bit scared, Roxy and Lobo hide behind a tree.  They fear becoming Squatchy’s dinner.

The three decide to be friends.  Squatchy suggests Lobo and Roxy meet his family.  The other Bigfoots live in a clearing, in the forest, but are invisible.  How will Lobo and Roxy actually meet Squatchy’s family if they cannot see them?  Is Squatchy really leading Lobo and Roxy to dinner . . . as the main course?  Oh, my, Lobo may be in a fix.

Opinion

The Adventures of Lobo have been delightful books, especially when read with an iPad.  Book 3, Lobo Finds Bigfoot does not disappoint.  Pushing a black paw signals a narrator and Lobo, Roxy, and Squatchy to read the new adventure a loud.  I had a few problems getting the voices, but it could have been my iPad, as it happened only once out of four reads.  Lobo looks sweeter this time around.  Maybe the lack of farm dirt he collected in Book 2 is the reason.  I think kids will continue to love Lobo and his gentle disposition and large friendly eyes.

Roxy is a black black bird with a high-pitched voice.  She says everything twice—her double-tongue—which younger children will be repeating.  They will also notice her short sentences.  I think the author was smart to write Roxy in this manner.  It gives younger children the opportunity to learn while listening to the story.

Squatchy seems more the main character in this edition of Lovable Lobo.  Once Lobo and Roxy met Squatchy, he leads the story, making introductions, relinquishing fears, and moving the group to the forest clearing to meet his family.  I love the addition of the video enhanced Squatchy Stomp by Catherine Pualani.  This is when Squatchy lets his family know it is okay to become visible to Lobo and Roxy.  I do not want to say too much, but it is a funny sequence.  It is a shame the physical books cannot contain video

The illustrations remain a highlight of the Lovable Lobo Series.  Ms. Murphy has a knack for capturing kid-friendly creatures.  Squatchy looks, to me, like a brown Cookie Monster, only with a large eyebrow that takes command of his face.  From here on out, whenever you watch a National Geographic special about finding Bigfoot, your child will point you to their new book, insisting you read for yourself, aloud, in character.  Of course, you can always push the black paw and let the book become an audio book.  The Adventures of Lobo, Book 3: Lobo Finds Bigfoot will entertain young children for hours.  You might want to keep the charger handy.

AVAILABLE AT iTUNES

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The Adventures of Lovable Lobo, #3:  Lobo Finds Bigfoot

by C. L. Murphy    website    blog    facebook    twitter

music by Catherine Pualani    website    blog    facebook    twitter

Released February 1, 2013

ISBN:  978-0-988318717

21 pages

Ages: 1 to 7

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Text & Illustrations:  Copyright © 2013 by C. L. Murphy, used with permission

Music:  Copyright © 2013 by Catherine Pualani

Reviewed on an iPad.

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Check out Erik, of ThisKidReviewsBooks review of Monstore!  He gave it 100 Gazillion stars!

Kid Lit Reviews gave a “lowly” 6 star review.