With telling detail, the story effectively establishes the importance of Bobo to Willy right from the start and lays out the pattern of Earl's penchant for stealing the toy. that is, until Willy falls asleep and Earl drags the monkey off once again. In the end, Willy, Earl and Bobo all curl up together in an oversized armchair. As the day continues, Bobo keeps disappearing, and Willy keeps finding him with Earl, and Willy's frustration with his kitty grows exponentially.

It doesn't take Willy long to discover Bobo under the covers in the clutches of his pet cat Earl. When Willy wakes up to find his beloved stuffed monkey, Bobo, missing, he begins to panic after all, Bobo helps him with everything, from identifying dangerous bugs to going down the slide to walking past the yard with the big scary dog. Hilarious for adult readers an exercise in self-recognition and empathy for the intended audience. Earl likes Bobo, too! When Willy loses track of Bobo, his search grows anxious: Could Bobo have been stolen by pirates? Or.Earl? Small listeners may recognize themselves in the worn-out, napping boy, curled up with his arm around both Bobo and Earl-but some will also sympathize with Earl's relentless, devoted recapturing of Bobo (clearly a shared prize in this household). Digitally colored and boldly lined pencil cartoons against cream-yellow background space put Willy and his feline housemate Earl (who has a marvelously blank, inscrutably entitled cat face) firmly in the forefront of the story. Bobo helps him, specifically, to confront dubious, possibly 'bitey' bugs, go down the playground slide and walk past large dogs (friendly doggy smiles notwithstanding). Willy, the protagonist of this small domestic drama, is perfectly, appropriately self-absorbed, as he is barely out of toddlerhood and, as his monologue reveals, he relies on his sock monkey, Bobo, to help him negotiate the challenges of being so young.

I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal