"Some days you wake up/ and you just gotta wokka" says the upbeat narrator of this infectious rhyme. As the boy dances along, he and a growing entourage ask neighboring children the recurring question, "How do you wokka-wokka?" and the kids demonstrate their distinctive walks: "I wokka-wokka/ like flamingos/ in a flocka-/ croakie-yocka/ leggy-longy/ pinky-hoppa-hoppa." Cecil's cheerful city dwellers ride skateboards, play hopscotch and eat cotton candy, while dogs, cats and pigeons mill about, until the entire neighborhood has joined the boy's "wokka-wokka party." With unflappable enthusiasm, art and text underscore the message that "Nobody wokkas/ in the same wokka way." Cecil's animated oil paintings of city life are full of enough details for second and third readings. After Bluemle kicks things off with a prose intro, her rhymes, which are divided into verse- and chorus-like sections, quickly settle into a strong and catchy beat. Children will respond with glee to Bluemle and Cecil's (My Father the Dog) wacky wokka rhythms and playful language that invite each reader to "wokka in their/ own crazy way." Ages 3-5. (Aug.)

PreS-Gr 1—In an infectious burst of movement, rhythm, and rhyme, a multiethnic cast of children in an urban neighborhood strut their stuff and celebrate their uniqueness. In answer to the call, "How do you wokka-wokka?," the youngsters demonstrate their moves—a flamingo, a mariachi, a clock, a fish—all to the sound of giddy nonsense rhymes and exuberant dancing ("I wokka-wokka/like flamingos/in a flocka—/croakie-yocka/leggy-longy/pinky-hoppa-hoppa"). The sketchy, full-color oil illustrations in muted colors feature cartoon children cavorting alternately against stark white backgrounds or cityscapes as they join a giant block party. This bouncy book is a joy as a read-aloud whether in a group or one-on-one, and kids and adults won't be able to resist making their own nonsense rhymes and dances as they "wokka-wokka" through the book.—Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI

A little boy bounds out of his house because "[s]ome days you wake up and you just gotta wokka- / Say "HEY!' to your neighbors up and down the blocka / wammy-lammy-wotcha-hoo. Do your funky wokka, get your dance on." The exuberant boy walks down the street asking other kids, "How do you wokka-wokka?" One by one, the kids describe and demonstrate their unique wokka styles and then join in the parade of dancers continuing down the street to the block party at its end. The singsong, nonsensical, rhyme-riddled text vacillates between catchy and awkward, breaking its rhythm at times in a way that may throw readers off. Cecil's oil illustrations depict a multiethnic cast of dancing children set against a plain white backdrop and the occasional city streetscape. The paintings are wonderful, but considerably more subdued than this celebration of movement and language calls for. Not a must-have, though the right storyteller could get the preschool crowd dreaming up their own version of the wokka-wokka. (Picture book. 3-6)

In an infectious burst of movement, rhythm, and rhyme, a multiethnic cast of children in an urban neighborhood strut their stuff and celebrate their uniqueness.
—School Library Journal (starred review)