Title: Book 1 of MB’s Adventures in Dr. T’s Marvelous Zoo: Featuring The Lop-Eared Frizzle Frop
Author: R. E. Tegtmeier, M.D.
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-9845-1095-2
Pages: 30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Reviewed by: Cindy Black
Pacific Book Review
With a sing-song rhyme and fanciful illustrations of a Frizzle Frop, with of course lop- ears, children can be cast off to dreamland with a humorous adventure buzzing around in their sleepy minds, with this appropriately titled, Book 1 of MB’s Adventures in Dr. T’s Marvelous Zoo: Featuring The Lop-Eared Frizzle Frop. Author R.E. Tegtmeier, M.D., created a story with danger, heroism, friendship and suspense, all geared to the mind’s eye of younger, single-digit year old children. Accompanied by illustrations by Jen Stone, the combination of words and images creates a world quite unique, however a bit reminiscent in a way how Dr. Seuss would paint his characters and deploy their endeavors.
The young lad M B is visiting a zoo, when all of a sudden he becomes confronted by a lion that escaped from the cage and appears right next to M B. Literally frozen in fear, M B stands still as the lion is fiercely growling next to him. Frizzle Frop to the rescue! Rolling down the mountain with his lop-ears gaining momentum, the Frizzle Frop crashes into the lion causing the big cat to return to its cage, leaving the petrified M B unscathed by the encounter.
We are introduced to many friends of M B. There are The Scrokets, two dapper- dressed tailed creatures with pig-like ears; Kish the half-horse half-fish friend, Dreck and Sneck – a dinosaur type of land creature with Sneck a flying bird with helicopter wings; and Pake, a goofy duck like animal with a smiling bill type of beak, dresses with a bandana and a chef’s hat, holding a birthday cake. Plus there is Zuck, with a double tail whatever-you-call it, and Cail, who looks sort of like a cat.
Dr. T embellishes this adventure story with ancillary pages within the galley text for children to use for coloring, as well as many of the characters are outlined in a way in which they can be colored-in as well. The poetic prose is wonderfully written for the kids to feel good having this book read to them, or as they grow older being able to read it for themselves. As for the Frizzle Frop, it is kind of like a rabbit, but different in a way which is hard to explain – you simply have to see the pictures. As for M B, he is safe from the lion, and on to his next adventure in what no doubt will be book two of his adventures, with perhaps many more sharing Dr. T’s imagination franchise.
