Lost in Bermooda

January 6, 2014
In his debut as an author, illustrator Litwin (My Name Is Not Isabella) takes a goofy premise and runs with it. The novel launches a series set on the island of Bermooda, a “peaceful Moo-topia” populated by anthropomorphic cows and other species. When a nine-year-old cow named Chuck Porter finds Dakota, a human boy, stranded on a sandbar, he brings him home. But first he “cowmouflages” his new friend with a makeshift cow costume, since the islanders fear outsiders, and “hu’mans” are reputed to be “cow-eating monsters.” Chuck makes several well-intentioned but misguided attempts to help Dakota return home, but the two have better luck foiling the plot of Wilhelm Wellington—a power-hungry cow with “plenty of moo-lah”—to take control of the island. Litwin lays it on thick with the bovine puns (Chuck and his family live in the Porter House, an area beach is called Cape Cud, and “kau’pai” is a local insult), and the ample humor and some revelations about Dakota’s backstory should leave readers looking forward to subsequent books. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 7–10.

May 1, 2014

Gr 2-4-Cows are the stars on the island of Bermooda. Rumors surrounding the once-dominant and now-absent species known as the hu'mans and keep many of the inhabitants quaking in their hooves. When the young cow named Chuck meets Dakota, a real hu'man boy, an unusual friendship is formed. Due to hu'mans' infamous dependence on hamburgers and steaks, Dakota dons a silly costume to hide his true identity from the resident islanders. This first entry in the series lightly considers the value of authentic relationships, as Chuck repeatedly attempts to return Dakota to his home without fully understanding his friend's situation there. During their adventures, the pair uncovers the gluttonous intentions of Wilhelm Wellington as he schemes to control the island's assets. Shaded black-and-white cartoons highlight the characters' animated expressions and serve to break up the text for children interested in transitioning into longer narratives. Funny hijinks are the focal point here. There are some humorous reactions to the animals' understanding of the people world, including their interpretation of the hu'man book The Art of Cookery: "Everyone knew the page numbers on which they appeared, along with detailed instructions on how they could be plucked, sheared, baked, broiled, stewed, fried, or roasted and served with garnish." Bovine puns pepper the pages. The unusual story may be spare on characterization but remains chock-full of silly antics.-Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, NC

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2013
In the cow paradise of Bermooda the only things to fear are the legendary monsters known as hu'mans. Chuck is bored, so bored that for excitement he is willing to explore the Boneyard, site of the crash 300 years ago of the HMS Hortica, which brought cows to Bermooda. (In Bermooda, "cow" does not appear to be a gendered term.) There, Chuck rescues a strange creature floating on an orange ring...and it turns out to be a hu'man, only without the claws, teeth and fire breath Chuck's been told to expect. Chuck befriends Dakota and promises to get him back to his family. The duo make a cow suit that, astonishingly, fools everyone into believing Dakota is a cow. None of Chuck's ideas to get Dakota home work, but in the planning, they discover a puzzling mystery that comes to a head at the Boomflower Festival. Can they solve it and keep Dakota's identity a secret? Litwin's light tale of friendship is full of Hawaii-inspired cow puns and reads like the intro to a series, since it introduces a large cast of characters, few of whom get to do much. Chuck and Dakota are nicely rounded characters, and the promised illustrations look to be endearingly cartoony. New-to-chapters readers will gladly join the herd and say "Lo'hai" (hello) to Bermooda and its denizens. (Fantasy. 6-10)

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March 15, 2014
Grades 2-4 The talking animals of remote Bermooda lead idyllic lives on their island paradisetroubled only by scary legends of fire-breathing, cow-eating hu'mans. Those legends come to life before the astonished bovine eyes of young Chuck Porter when a nameless lad, who calls himself Dakota after the ship on which he had stowed away, washes ashore. The two quickly get over their mutual terror to become fast friends, and with help from pig aviator Soward Seawell, they go on to derail bossy taurine Wilhelm Wellington's scheme to stampede the other locals into electing him king of the island. Printed in short chapters of generously leaded type strewn with vignettes of a diverse anthropomorphic cast, Litwin's tale (a setup for the prospective Welcome to Bermooda series) not only builds to a properly suspenseful, storm-wrecked climax, but is udderly loaded with bovine wordplay. Only a kau'pai would fail to chortle, and that's no bull.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Chuck, like his bovine friends, is sure "hu'mans" are evil until a friendly boy washes up on his tropical island of Bermooda. Silliness abounds, complete with wordplay and some island-y words, and readers will enjoy the opportunity to be one step ahead of the characters. Black-and-white cartoonlike illustrations show a variety of creatures enjoying island life. Moohalo!

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)