This Book Has Alpacas and Bears

by Emma Perry, Rikin Parekh (Illustrations)

Everyone has something to be proud of. In this new, hilarious picture book, Alfonso the Alpaca will set out to prove just that.
Alfonso the Alpaca loves nothing more than relaxing with a good book. Until one day it dawns on him that there is not a single alpaca in any of them - just wall-to-wall bears!

Something must be done, so Alfonso takes it upon himself to write a story about alpacas. But before long he realizes that it's not so easy (especially when you only have feet) and soon he has to enlist the help of his friend Colin. A bear!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor

32 pages, Paperback

Published April 20, 2021

About the author

Hi Goodreaders!

My name is Emma Perry, I'm a picture book author...

I Don't Like Books. Never. Ever. The End. illustrated by Sharon Davey : "An entertaining celebration of why reading is such fun." Julia Eccleshare M.B.E.

This Book Has Alpacas And Bears, illustrated by Rikin Parekh : "brilliant new picture book about Alfonso the alpaca who loves reading" Martin Brown, (Lesser Spotted Animals, Horrible Histories)

I'm the founder of MyBookCorner and organiser of International Book Giving Day, the book obsession shows no sign of slowing down!

You can find more details about me via my website - www.emmaperryauthor.com

Twitter: @_emmaperry
Instagram: @emmaperry

Reviews

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty fun book about an alpaca DETERMINED to get some books written about him and his species~


I came across this book and I just had a giggle at the cover, so this one had to come along on one of my library visits!

In this book we meet Alfonso the Alpaca (a name that I found very fitting). He loves reading and relaxing with a good book (yes, yes yes), but what if all the books he has access to… are about bears? I could imagine that Alfonso is not happy and is eager to get some changes. However.. he cannot write for life. Yep. He has big plans but only feet and that doesn’t make writing that easy. Thankfully, he has a friend who LOVES to write. Meet Colin. A bear who loves writing books. But only about bears. Because bears are awesome. Yep. You can see the problem arising already. And it doesn’t help that while Alfonso has some great ideas and that his motivations are pure, he does get very annoying. I mean, seriously, if someone would pester me like that… I would be not happy. The character of Alfonso really did sour for me at points because of how he acted and didn’t regard Colin’s feelings at all.

Thankfully, he does pick himself up and does something very cool, something that also had me cheering for him again. Sometimes you just have to go all out, but in a good way!

The ending made me happy and I was proud of Colin and also for Alfonso.

The art by Rikin Parekh was a lot of fun, I loved how they drew the animals and the scenes of chaos.

All in all, despite Alfonso turning to quite annoying, it was a lot of fun to read this book and I wouldn’t mind other books about this duo/other animals!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alphonso the Alpaca loves to read, but when he realizes that bears are everywhere and there are no alpacas, he goes to visit his friend Colin. Colin is not interested in Alphonso's concerns because he thinks "alpacas are noisy, clumsy, careless, and REALLY annoying." Alphonso is upset at first, but quickly recognizes that alpacas are great and is determined to prove it.

Teaching points: character traits, adjectives, writing process, SEL

Related Reads:
Macca the Alpaca by Matt Cosgrove
Don't Call Me Bear! by Aaron Blabey
Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
Llama Llama Red Pajama series by Anna Dewdney

[Charlie Morris (Read, Watch & Drink Coffee) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me and my boys love animals, so the one thing we look for in a new children’s book is a focus on a different and interesting animal that we don’t often read about. So This Book Has Alpacas and Bears is the perfect book for us.

Alfonso the Alpaca is tired of reading about bears, so he sets about to make his own story. But Alfonso’s bear friend, Colin, doesn’t see what’s so interesting about alpacas. Alfonso wants to prove him wrong.

A bright and humorous book, This Book Has Alpacas and Bears is a fun story with lovable characters, a funny story, and an uplifting message of friendships and originality.

I especially enjoyed the alpaca facts at the end of the book as it’s always great to learn during a reading session with my little ones. We enjoyed it immensely and would definitely be interested in reading more about Alfonso and his alpaca friends (or even a diverse range of the many other animals we don’t get to read about very often!)

Thank you to David Fickling Books for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from Scholastic.
Clever story about an alpaca who wants more stories about alpacas. He enlists the help of his bear friend after discovering he can't write with his legs, tail or mouth. After a lot of persuasion, the two collaborate and create - this book.
Clever illustrations - great character expressions.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good message and a glimpse at a (successful) writing process. The message being: don't believe the mean things people say (particularly when they are saying them because they are annoyed with you). Prove them wrong! Not a great read aloud, but a good book for seeing how writing a book works and understanding that haters can be wrong.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is everything you wanted to know about alpacas...and more. The ending is a little meta, which will annoy some readers. School age kids will enjoy it.

Themes: alpacas, bears, humor
Ages: K-1st grade
Pub year: 2023

[Lyndsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. Go get it.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m SO ordering a lunch box from the Alfonso line! :-)

[Nicole Darrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the humor of this - the alpaca is put out that there are plenty of stories about bears but not alpacas. Would be excellent for a preschool story time.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly and fun. Love the Alpaca who came to tea book, and all the merchandise. Adult humour helps.

[L M]

A lovely picture book about picture books and the animals in them and not in them

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant enough. I read it in Ms. Cassidy's class and they seemed to think it was good. The writing assignment that followed was to write your own story to feature an alpaca.