I Want to Be Somebody New!

Spot, who in Put Me in the Zoo learned that he was better off performing in a circus than behind bars at the zoo, returns with his two human friends. Spot changes from elephant to giraffe to mouse, trying to find a new identity. But he discovers that every animal shape has its drawbacks. As an elephant Spot can't squeeze into his favorite chair; as a giraffe his friends can't see his face; as a mouse he can't reach the door to his house. Finally Spot's friends convince him that being somebody new is never going to feel as good as just being his same old, spot-juggling self. This intelligent, cheerful sequel, with its simple rhyming text, lives up to the reputation of its predecessor. The art, which hasn't changed since the first book was published (1960), has a dated, but familiar look. (5-8)