Groovy Joe: Ice Cream \u0026 Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin

Groovy Joe: Ice Cream \u0026 Dinosaurs Reviews

• 
  Jon Nakapalau

  Groovy Joe is just groov'in when along comes...DINOSAURS! And they all want some of his groovy doggie ice cream! Dinosaurs love ice cream...I KNEW IT! What will Groovy Joe do? Well...groove on down and pick up a copy of this groovy book to find out! Groovy how many times I could use the word groovy!
• 
  Matt

  A decent book about a dog who loves his ice cream and is constantly interrupted by dinosaurs. He feels that sharing is the best policy and so he has them take up a spoon and join in. Things progress until the ice cream is gone, forcing Groovy Joe to scramble to save face (and likely his own life). Told in an interesting sing-song manner, Neo liked that aspect, but seemed less than impressed with the story.
• 
  Lisa

  Groovy Joe is so much FUN! My library students loved the book and the song that can be downloaded online. We danced and sang and had a groovy time!
• 
  Lindsey

  Loved the illustrations, formulaic but it works. Kids will love it in storytime
• 
  Michelle Olson

  A totally nonsensical book about a dog sharing ice cream with dinosaurs. But when you sing it as a song it’s pretty darn cute and you can’t help but giggle.
• 
  Heidi

  Groovy Joe is an adorable new picture book character who likes to sing and is happy with his guitar and hid doggy ice cream. The addition of dinosaurs guarantees that this book will be popular with the preschool crowd, especially since there is a Groovy Dance song to go with the book as well. This would be a fun book to use in a story time. The children could join in on the chants and even dance along with the song to get some of the wiggles out. The underlying theme of sharing and finding common ground over a bowl of ice cream doesn't hurt the story either. Hopefully there will be more Groovy Joe in the future.
• 
  Reading_ Tamishly

  Actually you will end up dancing with your kid when you're done with the book.
  
  It's so much fun to read along.
  
  
  The illustration is really good. It's fun and loud and cheerful!
  
  Yes, the idea of sharing and making the best of every situation matter!🎭
• 
  Becky

  First sentence: Groovy Joe saw something yummy. Groovy Joe started rubbing his tummy. Groovy Joe was living the dream. He had a spoon and a tub of ice cream. And he started to sing...
  
  Premise/plot: Eric Litwin is the author/creator of the original Pete the Cat books. His newest creation is Groovy Joe. Groovy Joe is a dog LOVING his doggy ice cream. Life is SWEET. But what will happen when that good life gets interrupted--multiple times--by HUNGRY dinosaurs? Will Groovy Joe get upset? Or will he keep on singing?
  
  My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I enjoyed meeting the character of Groovy Joe. I like his willingness to share. Sharing doesn't particularly come naturally--to anyone. I also enjoy the repetition of this one. It will be easy for little ones to join in.
  
  Text: 4 out of 5
  Illustrations: 4 out of 5
  Total: 8 out of 10
• 
  Theresa

  Well I guess if it aint broke....if you've read Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin, this is pretty much more of the same. But even if it's not exactly reinventing the wheel, it does hit all the toddler/preschooler high points - dinosaurs roaring - check! Repetitive and amazingly catchy little refrain - check! And a rather sacharine sharing is awesome moral to appease the parents. It's undoubtedly a formula that works as toddlers and preschoolers in my story time were singing and snapping their fingers along with me pretty much right away and screaming dramatically at the dinosaurs.
• 
  Mama Bibliosoph

  My two sons with autism both love this book. I set out to explore why it seemed to work particularly well for children on the spectrum and ended up doing a long interview with the author, Eric Litwin, for my children's book review blog. As it turns out, he used to be a special education teacher!
  
  More here:
  http://www.lineupthebooks.com/an-inte...
• 
  Ina

  Bright and cheerful Groovy Joe is one cool dog who loves ice cream...and sharing. The latter is good because Groovy Joe has a series of visitors while eating ice cream one afternoon. The text is bouncy and singable and has a number of repeating elements that encourage participation...and sharing. A cool, dancing/singing dog, dinosaurs and ice cream. It doesn't get more kid pleasing than this book.
• 
  Jami Good

  I almost didn't read this book, but I decided that since I'd already picked it up from the library shelf that I didn't want to hurt its feelings. I'm glad I read it. The dog is jolly and knows how to share and problem solve. I'd imagine that a kid who loves dinosaurs and/or pictures that are dramatic will like this storybook.
  
  At the very end, there are The Groovy Dance song lyrics as well as a link directing where to download the song. :)
• 
  Kendra

  Listen to the recording, for sure.
  
  What I like about this, that is different from the Pete books is that these could really work as beginning readers. The text is simple and easy to read with some predictive language built in. With a dog, dinosaurs, and ice cream as main characters, the appeal will range from toddlers to Kindergartners.
• 
  Niki

  I think to fully enjoy Groovy Joe you need to listen to the song by Eric Litwin. You can find it here:
  http://groovyjoestories.scholastic.com/
  I can't wait to share this with my young students in the fall! They are going to love it!
• 
  Library Maven

  Great fun and a catchy refrain for storytimes.
  
• 
  Angie

  Very reminiscent of Litwin's Pete the Cat books. Nice rhyming/repeating text and incorporation of song. This will be a sure hit for storytimes and read alouds.
• 
  Lonna

  My son who is 3 LOVES this book. It is also perfect for librarians performing storytimes due to its interactive activities (roaring, singing, drumming, repetitive phrases, etc). It's great!!!
• 
  Carolyn

  I love Pete the Cat! Joe is just as fun. Groovy Joe teaches all about sharing. Great read! The kids will love both Joe and the dinosaurs. I picked this for one of my staff recs.
• 
  Melissa McAlvey

  I love Eric Litwin and wish he still wrote the pete the cat books. this one was fun and we all enjoyed it.
• 
  Destinee

  Will Groovy Joe be the next Pete the Cat? Possibly. "Love my doggy ice cream" is just about as catchy as "I love my white shoes." My daughter and nephew (both toddlers) wanted to read it over and over again. Dinosaurs, ice cream, sharing, a guitar - these are all things I can get behind. I haven't tried it yet at story time, but I think it will be fun.
• 
  Brittany Hart

  "I love Doggie Ice Cream!" and apparently everyone else does too. Read this book for a fun story about sharing and singing and making friends!
  This book was a lot of fun!
  I want to listen to the CD and play it for the kids in class and read the book along. I would use this for a fun lesson about sharing!
• 
  Jessa Rodrigues ☕ (decafJess)

  I mean, it's got dinosaurs, a cute anthropomorphized animal jamming out on his guitar, ice cream, a song, a cute moral message -- a safe algorithm for storytime fun. (Although one preschooler got scared and cried because I went a little too hard with the dinosaur roars -- mind your audience, obvs.)
• 
  Kirsten

  This book is silly and fun. It incorporates a lot of what every kid loves--dogs, dinosaurs, and ice cream. The book also involves singing (or sing-speaking), repetitive language, expressive language, and a positive message on sharing.
• 
  Inge

  I mean, kind of Litwin's typical offering, but really, the kindergarteners I read it to loved it. They made me read it twice and asked for a third helping.
• 
  Alyssa Tabor

  Fun, musical book in the tradition of Pete the Cat. Definitely using this in storytime!
• 
  Abigail

  Groovy Joe is a happy dog, "living the dream" in his comfortable home, with his bucket of Haagen Dogs Doggy Ice Cream. When a dinosaur shows up with an attitude and a spoon, Joe decides that sharing is awesome, but will he still feel that way as other dinosaurs arrive? And what will happen when the ice cream runs out...?
  
  The first of a prospective new picture-book series from author Eric Litwin, creator of the original
  Pete the Cat books, and illustrator Tom Lichtenheld, Groovy Joe: Ice Cream & Dinosaurs has a number of positive qualities, from its pro-sharing message to its colorful and engaging artwork. Although not exactly my cup of tea, the illustrations have an energy that works very well with the sing-song narrative and story. All that said, somehow I just wasn't that impressed when reading about Groovy Joe. Perhaps one has to listen to the accompanying songs, available online, to get the full effect, but the experience of reading from the page felt flat for me.
  
  Addendum: After initially reading this in the store, I went home and found the accompanying song and narration online, to see if experiencing a more interactive version of the story would affect my enjoyment. Unfortunately, I still wasn't that impressed, and have concluded that this just isn't for me. Mileage varies, of course, and it's entirely possible that children who enjoy the
  Pete the Cat books might like this as well, so I'd recommend that parents give it a try, and see how it works.
• 
  Melissa

  Groovy Joe is a dog who loves to sing and ice cream. He buys a carton and goes home to enjoy it when in comes a dinosaur who demands that Joe share. Does he? Of course because it is awesome to share. Two more dinosaurs show up and each demand ice cream and Joe patiently shares. In the end all the ice cream is gone and Joe comes up with a new plan of playing the carton like a drum to entertain the dinosaurs. They sing and dance together and everyone is happy.
  
  The main message of this book is "it is awesome to share" and this book would be good for a unit on sharing.
  
  This book also has a song written and sang by the author (search youtube) which little children engage with so this book could also be used with a unit on singing.
  
  It could also be used for a unit on conflict resolution as the dinosaurs eat all Joe's ice cream and get mad when there is no more.