Category:  Children Publisher: Pelican Press Pages: 32 Copyright: 2008 ISBN-13: 9781589805682 A bull in a china shop-that's the term used to describe Ima Hogg's day spent in charge of her little brother when her father Governor Hogg goes away on a campaign. Only her ingenuity and resourcefulness keep her brother out of danger and a very sticky situation with the family menagerie.  Ima is left in charge of her little brother, who loves to outrage the ostriches, bother the buffaloes, and enrage the elephants in the family menagerie. Only her resourcefulness can keep him from harm in this second title in the Ima Hogg series. Excerpt Booklist When a nineteenth-century governor of Texas leaves home to go to an election, he puts his daughter, Ima, in charge of her little brother, Tom. This is easier said than done, especially considering that the Hogg family owns a menagerie of exotic animals, and Tom simply cannot wait to rile them up. So he proceeds to “bother the buffaloes, outrage the ostriches, and panic the pachyderms,” all to the consternation (and occasional danger) of Ima. Tom’s countrified speech (“I ain’t gonna hurt Papa’s big hairy cows”) will be fun for kids to emulate, and Dupree’s chaotic watercolors, full of manic brushstrokes, will have them scrutinizing each page. There are some missed opportunities—when the siblings evade the stampeding buffaloes by hiding inside a barrel, Ima is astonished that her dog has one of the buffaloes by the nose, yet that detail is nowhere to be seen. Most enjoyable is the historical footnote revealing the true story of Governor Hogg and his daughter, Ima Hogg—a name sure to generate some giggles. Grades K-2. --Daniel Kraus

Booklist
Booklist
When a nineteenth-century governor of Texas leaves home to go to an election, he puts his daughter, Ima, in charge of her little brother, Tom. This is easier said than done, especially considering that the Hogg family owns a menagerie of exotic animals, and Tom simply cannot wait to rile them up. So he proceeds to “bother the buffaloes, outrage the ostriches, and panic the pachyderms,” all to the consternation (and occasional danger) of Ima. Tom’s countrified speech (“I ain’t gonna hurt Papa’s big hairy cows”) will be fun for kids to emulate, and Dupree’s chaotic watercolors, full of manic brushstrokes, will have them scrutinizing each page. There are some missed opportunities—when the siblings evade the stampeding buffaloes by hiding inside a barrel, Ima is astonished that her dog has one of the buffaloes by the nose, yet that detail is nowhere to be seen. Most enjoyable is the historical footnote revealing the true story of Governor Hogg and his daughter, Ima Hogg—a name sure to generate some giggles. Grades K-2. --Daniel Kraus