A wonderful look at capybaras, filled with a sweet humor and warm colored pencil illustrations that hearken back to Bill Peet’s “The Wump World”. It’s worth mentioning that the translated text is geared toward older young readers, age 5-7.

Get to know more about Capybaras in this charming and very cute book! I had so much fun learning about capybaras through this story. I really loved the quirky artstyle and the fun way the story was told. I think this would be a great book for kids to learn from.

I Am a Capybara by Michela Fabbri presents an animal that many children may not be familiar with by giving facts and fictions about Capybaras. It is a great way to give information to young kids who want to know about different animals and want the facts, but enjoy being told Cabybaras like drinking tea and going to the opera. The illustrations are beautifully done. At times there felt like too many words on a page with not enough illustration to keep the attention of a younger child who wouldn't be interested in all the words.

This tells the story of a particular capybara, mixing facts about a relatively unknown creature with some imaginative aspects. It's a cute book with sweet, soothing illustrations. It'd make a great story to read one to one.

I Am a Capybara by Michela Fabbri blends fact and fiction into a charming story about a gentle capybara..This capybara enjoys nature, his family, and the simple things in life. The illustrations are beautiful and charming. I enjoyed seeing the capybara watch his friends and family and nature as well as some of the sillier moments.

However, there were moments that left me confused, as it feels like the book is trying to be two things at once - informative about capybaras, and a silly story about fictional things that capybaras might do. This will be a book that is attention grabbing for children who are fascinated with animals, as well as the older crowd of children, but might get lost on some of the younger crowd or those who are not into nature or animals.

This is a very sweet picture book, introducing kids to the memeable capybara. They are not beavers, or dogs, or anything else - but the world's biggest rodent. Younger readers will learn a bit about the species as well as this special narrator - who doesn't mind playing around or trying something new.

He touches on wanting to feel close to friends and family, and wanting your own space, alongside loving to swim and other animals.

I loved this adorable line from the book:

"...I'm a tough guy. But not a normal tough guy.

We capybaras know a secret: tough guys love care and cuddles sometimes."

Fabbri's gorgeous pencilled illustrations add texture and a pop of colour against the sparse text. She brings Capy's personality to the page with cute poses and expressions.

Recommended for kids and adults that love animals (and/or capybaras specifically).

I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review - so thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

#IamaCapybara #NetGalley

The illustrations are adorable and it is nice to see a book for kids about this animal. But I have that question in my mind about whether or not it will truly appeal to kids, based on the text. Is it a children's book, or a book that adults will treasure and end up rewording the text as they read it to their children?

Cute book and great illustrations. Very interesting way to learn about the Capybara. So much to learn!

A capybara talks about his life: Enjoying simple pleasures like broth, trying new things like opera, making new friends who are very different than you, and so on. It is a nice little book but not really attention grabbing for my 4-year-old. His favorite part was the cuddle clump.

Many current picture books end up consisting of a series of philosophical musings with surreal (and sometimes funny) touches. This is a fun, sweet book that doesn’t tell much of a story. It’s all about the quirk, the whimsy. The drawings are endearing. It’s a pleasant diversion.

This picture book did a good job of mixing factual with fantastical. Children will leave this book knowing a few facts about capybaras and having enjoyed a cute story. I loved the author's description of caring via closeness, so sweet.

It is educational. It is fun. It is amazing!

I didn't know capybaras exist.
I appreciate the efforts of the team who brought out this gem. I keep learning things from children's books like this. Because never in my life, I would not have looked up for animals which I wasn't aware about. It's fun learning about animals!

It's easy for us to assume animals which look similar as one kind. But this kind of picture books help us educate about the differences and the facts we need to know.

I like the cover so much!
The illustrations are amazing. Kudos to the artist!

However, I would appreciate it more if the font style and size are reader friendly, especially for the kids. It looks crowded, thin and small.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

I love the idea of a children's illustrated book introducing the capybara. We have an annual membership to our local conservation zoo and they have capybara there, which my son loves, so I felt this was especially relevant to us. The problem with this book is it doesn't know if it's an educational book, or a fiction book without a story. On some pages the detail and information is extremely useful to a child learning about what a capybara is. On others, the capybara dresses up as a whale or talks about his love of poetry or the opera. Without a story to drive why the capybara is doing these things, it seems like an odd mix between education and whimsy. It occupies a space between fiction and non fiction that I found a little jarring. I'd have preferred for the facts to be weaved in more naturally, and the capybara to be on a journey of exploration, perhaps learning about himself or looking for others. Recommended on Amazon for 4-8 years, I'd aim it at the older range.

The illustrations are a lovely, hand drawn pen style, unique, understated but engaging, with good detail for children to take in. I love the overall look and the font chosen as well.

My son enjoyed the concept and the illustrations, but I had to explain a lot to him and I ended up rewording a lot of the text in a more simple manner.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Princeton Architecture Press for the ARC.

This was definitely fun and funny, but without an author's note I am unlikely to recommend it. There are parts that are silly and clearly fiction (like when they capybara wears a goofy whale costume); but I know so little about these animals that I have no way of knowing what among the little details is true or not. I will take another look at the book once it's been published and I hope to see some additional information about this interesting and weird creature.

I was excited by the cover and title of this picture book initially. I did really like the illustrations in this book quite a bit. They are simple, but the lines give a sense of action and draw the eye.
I wish that I had liked the text as much. It's a text that can't quite decide what it is. It meanders without a clear focus. Some of the individual moments are quite lovely, but the tone is consistently uneven. After a delightful intro, it then turns into a text about toughness and caring, but on the whole that feels forced and uninspired in a way that contradicts what I enjoyed about the illustrations. The Capybara and how it is drawn seems to call for a more whimsical tale (which some parts are somewhat) but there is little whimsy in the overall book.

I can't really recommend this one unfortunately.

This is Michela Fabbri's debut book. She highlights the interesting and oftentimes unfamiliar animal.... the capybara. It is often mistaken for a beaver, a bear or a mouse but it's none of those.

This adorable capybara is a wee bit different from the standard ones. This one loves poetry, the opera and even dressing up in costumes. He is refined and full of adventure. He tells his readers all about himself and reveals that his best friend is a little bird. They share life together.

Capybaras love to hang out in groups and he shares that he loves cuddles and care a lot. Kids will be delighted to learn all about this interesting animal and the author does a splendid job of informing the reader through her simple illustrations and witty narrative about his feelings and experiences. The message of the book highlights family, community living and discovery of new things. It is a wonderful book to add to a classroom collection or place in an elementary school library. I recommend it.

I Am a Capybara
By: Michela Fabbri
4.0 / 5.0

I loved the art style of this picture book. It was as if it was drawn just for you. The drawings looked like they were just drawn with color pencil or another medium. I really enjoyed reading this book.

I didn’t know much about capybaras before reading this book and now I find them fascinating. I’m not sure this book is nonfiction, but it seemed to be very factual. If you are going on a trip to the zoo and want to read some picture books before you go, this is a great book.



Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/I-am-Capybara-Michela-Fabbri/dp/161689945X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=I+am+a+capybara&qid=1591497729&sr=8-1


Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-am-a-capybara-michela-fabbri/1136402459?ean=9781616899455

This review will appear on my blog on October 6, 2020.

I love capybaras, and this was a really cute story explaining them. I enjoyed the artwork and how simple and straightforward the narrative was. I would have liked a bit of adventure and a bit more plot, but the capybara’s description of himself is quite enjoyable.

Oh I wanted to love this book. As an animal lover I look for interesting books, especially from characters that we do not see very often. I'm a huge capybara fan-and I loved the illustrations throughout the book they were whimsical and interesting. This book however is far too wordy, and the story doesn't flow. I think that there is a good story hidden in the book, written as it is, it would be painful to read aloud to a group of kids.

I loved the illustrations and deadpan humor, and I also learned about the mysterious capybara! I think this will appeal to both children and adults - will purchase for my library.