Rosen, Michael. Oh Dear, Look What I Got! Helen Oxenbury, Illus. Candlewick, 09/2025. [36]pp. Picture Book. Trade $17.99. 978-1-5362-3568-5. GRADES Preschool–2. OUTSTANDING.
A boy goes to various shopkeepers and asks for items like a coat or hat, but is given an animal that rhymes with the original request, such as a goat or cat. This humorous cumulative story invites audience participation, with children calling out the different animals received, or the repeated phrase “O dear, look what I got! Do I want that? No, I do NOT!” The story and pattern are reminiscent of classics like Pat Hutchins’ Don’t Forget the Bacon! (Greenwillow, 1976). Oxenbury’s customary watercolor and colored pencil illustrations use pastel shades against cream-colored backgrounds; they depict a white boy at the center, with shopkeepers representing different ethnicities. A great companion to the author and illustrator team’s earlier book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (Margaret K. McElderry, 1989).
Penny Peck—San José State University iSchool