Bringing home a pet and keeping it become very different ideas when a young girl’s nose sends the animals packing.

Ah-Choo!
Written by Lana Wayne Koehler and Gloria G. Adams
Illustrated by Ken Min
Sterling Children’s Books   3/01/2016
978-1-4549-1415-0
40 pages    Ages 4—8

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“When a young boy decides to get a pet, he discovers it’s not as simple as ABC. Every animal he brings home makes hi spoor sister sneeze! Can he find one that won’t leave her reaching for the tissues? Follow along on a gunny, furry adventure that features animals of every size and stripe, from Antelopes and Bobolinks to Yaffles and Zebras!” [inside jacket]

Review
Choosing a pet should be a lot of fun for a young boy. But what happens when every animal he tries to choose his sister’s nose sends packing? Is there any hope he will find a pet his sister won’t blow out of the water (or the air)? The younger girl wants a pet as much as her brother wants one. She tries with every pet he brings home. But her nose has other ideas and explodes. The lineup of animals the young boy tries to make his pet is quite impressive, mostly to make sure the rhyming scheme works—which it does, near perfect every time.

The young boy—who can be any reader—tries the traditional pets: cat and dog. “Ah-Choo!” His sister’s building blocks fly high into the air as if an Olympic dance routine. The young boy must like birds because next he brings home an emu, a goose, a hen, umbrellabirds, vultures, and a ferret (okay, not a bird, but what are they). The sister loves these birds, which encircle her and make her giggle . . . right before she sneezes and sniffles a red-nosed, “Ah-choo!”

The young boy must realize a pet may not be in his immediate future. There are not many animals to try against his sister’s sensitive nose, which reacts allergically to each of her brother’s pets, no matter how exotic or unusual the animal may have been. Mom and dad, wherever they are, must be thrilled their youngest has a sensitive nose, after watching their son bring home a sloppy pig and a stinky skunk.

Ah-Choo is a hilarious take on a sensitive subject: allergic rhinitis. The authors treat the subject lightheartedly, without any back matter or endnotes. Young children will enjoy laughing and rolling in fits of giggles. The animals are crazy and a few may need an explanation. I had never heard of an umbrellabird (a solitary migrant bird that prefers to live a solitary life). Such an odd choice to use when not needed for the rhyme scheme. The vulture is just as confusing, considering it is not exactly a friendly bird and may be difficult to feed. Still, the grand assortment will interest young children. Ah-Choo asks you to suspend your disbelief and accept the unusual pets.

The writing is poetic with very good rhymes. The meter is strong with good flow, and is easy to read aloud. Of course, young children will eagerly read “Ah-Choo!” The cover, which I love, immediately gave me the impression Ah-Choo would be a fun book. The illustrations are nice and effectively show the problems attached to a sister with allergies. Feathers fly en masse; mammals solidly stack inside a red wagon; the young boy’s exhaustion is as visible as the wheel turning at a fast clip. Some of the animals will charm you, such as the gorgeous blue emu even with its large, disturbing eyes.

If you are looking for a giggle inducing picture book with excellent illustrations and unpredictable sneezes, Ah-Choo is for you and your gaggle of geese, um, children. The rhyming has a nice rhythm readers will appreciate. Min’s illustrations put Ah-Choo over the top, right where kids like silly books such as Ah-Choo to land.

Ah-Choo! is Lana Wayne Koehler’s debut children’s book

AH-CHOO! Text copyright © 2016 by Lana Wayne Koehler and Gloria G. Adams. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Ken Min. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Sterling Children’s Books, New York, NY.

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Find Ah-Choo! on Goodreads HERE.

Lana Wayne Koehler:  http://www.lanakoehler.com/
Follow on Twitter          @LanaWKoehler

Gloria G. Adams: http://www.gloriagadams.com
Follow on Twitter          @Amethystgg66

Ken Min: http://kenminart.com/ 
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Sterling Children’s Books:  http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/childrens-books.html
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Sterling Children’s Books is an imprint of  Sterling Publishing Co.

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Reprinted with permission from AH-CHOO! © 2016 by Lana Wayne Koehler and Gloria G. Adams, Sterling Children’s Books, an imprint of  Sterling Publishing Co., Illustrations © 2016 by Ken Min.

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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Ah-Choo!
Written by Lana Wayne Koehler and Gloria G. Adams
Illustrated by Ken Min
Sterling Children’s Books 3/01/2016
9781454914150