Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.

Well, not only do we feel like a nut, we ARE nuts about OH, NUTS! (Bloomsbury, 2012), a brand new picture book by Tammi Sauer and Dan Krall, which officially drops today!

C-C-R-R-R-A-C-K!

Oops.

You know the old saying, “It takes one to know one”? Ahem, Tammi Sauer, Dan Krall. Need I say more? Totally qualified in the nuts department. But somebody should get on their shells about slacking off. Tammi = 5 books out this year. Dan = 2 books out this year. If they’d only stop polishing their pecans, attacking acorns and waltzing with walnuts, they’d have time to make more books! Yeah!

*crowd grows restless* “Par-tay! Par-tay!”

So, are you ready to channel your inner chipmunk? I hope Tammi and Dan have time to drop by today’s celebration. They were last seen at the City Zoo, “meeting their public.” Throngs of peanut nibblers want their copies signed.

While we await their arrival, a few party accoutrements.

First, put on a nutty T-shirt.

Next, you’ll need a hat to go with it. We offer two choices today, both equally dignified. This one,

 

or this one:

 

Wouldn’t want you to step on any shells in your bare feet, so put on these chipmunk flip flops:

 

For those of you who shun the limelight, forget the rest and embrace this chipmunk suit. Perfect way to blend in with the other animals!

 

Lookin’ good! I’m sure Cutesy, Blinky and Bob would approve. Oh, you haven’t met them yet? They’ve been busy dolling up for today’s debut, too.

Cutesy had some glam shots done,

 

Blinky has been working on his 6-pack,

 

and Bob got the Bret Michaels make-over he always wanted.

 

These chipmunks are so, so chuffed — and have you ever seen such cheeks?! On with the show.

* * *

***IN A NUT SHELL***

In Oh, Nuts!, Cutesy, Blinky and Bob are miffed. They live at the City Zoo just like all the other animals, but does anybody ever pay any attention to them? No!

 

 

Every day it’s the same old thing — zoo-goers gawk at the gorillas, clickety click their cameras at the koalas, oggle the owls and even stare at the sleeping sloths for cryingoutloud. This is just so wrong. Can you blame the chipmunks for feeling put out? Something HAD to be done!

So they think think think and come up with a plan. What about a makeover? They accessorize and strike a pose. No dice. They’re upstaged by zebras chewing grass. Uh-huh.

Blinky thinks music might be the ticket! “The chipmunks spiked their fur, grabbed some gear, then rocked the park.” But giraffes flicking bugs with their tails prove far more interesting to the what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-these people crowds. Sheesh!

 

 

Ach, ach. Time to play serious hardball. But Cutesy, Blinky and Bob are no match for exotic animals like poison dart frogs or infinitely fascinating possums playing dead. Nuts nuts nuts.

And then . . . a miracle!

Bob, who usually just sits there, has a brilliant idea. (No, I’m not going to tell you.) And it works! They wow the crowd! WooHoo! Fame and stardom and all the attention in the world at last!!

But do they like it? Hmmmmmm. Maybe, maybe not. Are things ever the way we think they’re going to be?

A very cool story especially appropriate for our, “Notice me I want to be popular” society, brought to vivid, wacky life via Krall’s zany, eye-popping digital illos. We are talking about mega-size chipmunk cheeks here, capable of storing the entire state of Rhode Island in one side, Texas in the other.

As with Tammi’s other books, the pitch perfect phrasing and comic timing in Oh, Nuts! make for a lively, giggle-inducing read aloud. Kids will love “visiting” their favorite zoo animals and will probably never feel the same way about chipmunks again. Precisely as Cutesy, Blinky and Bob would have wanted it!

Check out the official trailer (music by Mike Stern, animation by Joel Trussel) to see these guys in action:

* * *

 ***LET’S EAT!***

*rubs paws together*

And now, please join me in congratulating Tammi and Dan on their zooper book! Strike a pose, drum on your acorns, and SLURP SLURP SLURP! Cutesy, Blinky and Bob won’t mind a bit if you eat any or all of the animals in the bowl. Just as long as you don’t play dead.

To go with your zoop, wrap your lips around this monkey sandwich:

Yes yes yes, I know you’re panting for dessert.

Help yourself to a zoo animal cupcake (roar if you want two):

some piranha cookies,

 

and go ahead and stuff your cheeks with some milk chocolate acorns:

 

I’m gonna stop feeding all you animals now, so you can scamper over to your local indie or click through to your fave online bookseller to score your very own copy of Oh, Nuts!

 

If you go to a bricks and mortar store — do I have to tell you? — dress like a NUT (i.e., your normal attire). Only if you don’t want to be noticed, dress like your favorite zoo animal. Bring some acorns for the cashier and by all means, gibber, growl, hoot, squawk, squeal, grunt, and chatter about Oh, Nuts! to everyone in the checkout line. If you’d like a discount, beat on your chest and bellow the secret password: ZOO!

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY, TAMMI AND DAN!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, OH, NUTS!

* * *

OH NUTS!
written by Tammi Sauer
illustrated by Dan Krall
published by Bloomsbury, September 2012
Picture Book for ages 3+, 32 pp.
Cool themes: animals, chipmunks, zoos, humor, popularity

* * *

*ENCORE*

♥ Tammi Sauer’s Official Website and LiveJournal Blog

Her other books out this year:

• Bawk & Roll, illustrated by Dan Santat (Sterling, 2012)
• Me Want Pet!, illustrated by Bob Shea (S&S, 2012)
• Princess in Training, illustrated by Joe Berger (Harcourt, 2012), October 2nd release.
• The Twelve Days of Christmas in Oklahoma, illustrated by Victoria Hutto (Sterling, 2012), October 2nd release.

♥ Learn how Tammi got the idea for Oh, Nuts! in this recent interview at Author Turf

♥ Dan Krall’s Official Website and Sketch Book Drawings blog

Also out this year from Dan: Skeleton Cat written by Kristyn Crow (Scholastic, 2012).

 

♥ More Soup of the Day posts here.

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*Spreads from Oh, Nuts! reproduced with permission of the illustrator, text copyright © 2012 Tammi Sauer, illustrations © 2012 Dan Krall, published by Bloomsbury. All rights reserved.

**Special thanks to Dan Krall for creating the zoo illustration of Tammi and Dan Chipmunk just for today’s post!

*** Wanna make your own zoo animal sandwiches? Go here.

*Got Nuts t-shirt via Cafe Press

*I Speak Chipmunk t-shirt via Cafe Press

*Winter Chipmunk Hat via Powderfin.com

*Got Nuts baseball cap via Cafe Press

*Chipmunk flip flops via Cafe Press

*Chipmunk costume via HalloweenCostumes.com

*Zoo animal cupcakes via Chica and Jo

*Piranha cookies via sugar-bliss gnome

*Chocolate acorns via Orenji

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Copyright © 2012 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.