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|---|---|---|---|
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Summary
Summary
The internationally acclaimed author of the Stella and Sam series has created a collection of short, funny illustrated stories.
This hilarious collection of illustrated stories gives us a glimpse into the things children wonder about every day.
What do cats really see? What do trees talk about? Should you make funny faces on a windy day? Do worms rule the world? Do mothers always tell the truth? Do snails have nightmares?
These short stories are illustrated in vibrant watercolor and collage in cartoon style. They are rich in detail and tiny humorous subplots that will delight all little sharp-eyed monsters.
Key Text Features
humour
speech bubbles
panels
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.5
Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7
Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)
Author Notes
Children's author and illustrator Marie-Louise Gay was born in Quebec City, Canada on June 17, 1952. While attending the Institute of Graphic Arts of Montreal, she decided graphic art was too restraining and transferred to the Montreal Museum School of Fine Art, where is majored in animation. She worked for various Canadian magazines doing editorial illustration and illustrated a children's book. In order to learn more about illustration, she attended the Academy of Art College in San Francisco for three years.
She moved to Montreal, Canada and started illustrating children's books. In 1980, she decided to write and illustrate her own picture books. In 1984, she won the Canada Council Children's Literature Prize for illustration in both the English-language category for Lizzy's Lion and the French-language category for Drôle d'école. She won the Canadian Library Association Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon medal for Moonbeam on a Cat's Ear in 1987 and for Rainy Day Magic in 1988. The latter book also earned her the coveted Governor General's Award for illustration. She has also won the 2005 Vicky Metcalf Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the Mr. Christie's Book Award, and the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-In this comic collection disguised as a picture book, each short, highly imaginative story is contained on a spread. Readers can consume them in a single sitting or one at a time (though they'll notice that some characters appear in more than one tale). The first entry, "When I Close My Eyes," effectively sets the stage for the sagas that follow. In it, a boy tries to hurry along a younger girl, presumably his sister. She asks him to wait so she can tell him what she sees with her eyes closed. In scoffing at the notion, the bigger boy misses the glorious scenes the girl envisions as he pulls her on. Detailed line and wash illustrations filled with humor depict everyday goings-on and childlike antics and present a multiracial cast of kids and adults (plus even a few nonhuman creatures, such as snails, trees, and worms). Conversations in thought bubbles complement the drawings, which extend beyond the confines of the comic strip boxes. VERDICT This must-have volume is worth reading multiple times to enjoy the humor and to revisit the witty illustrations and snappy dialogue.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In these comics-style snapshots of whimsy, Gay (Tiger and Badger) lets children and other creatures break the rules of ordinary life. In one of three "Snail Nightmares," a snail can't stop its forward momentum and crashes into the end of its comic strip. A girl tests out replacement noses after breaking hers "into a thousand pieces" while playing on a laundry line. And one boy fears that sharks might lurk in a swimming hole-and turns out to be right. Gay's spidery lines capture her characters' flyaway hair, the exuberant antics of her animals, and the way her children's loose-fitting clothing seems to stay up in defiance of gravity. Brilliant colors abound, trees can talk, and the interiors of snail shells feature chandeliers and slipcovered armchairs. In the final comic, two children debate what might be down a rabbit hole. "Maybe rabbits build beautiful houses underground," the girl says. "Are you kidding?" the boy responds. The truth is bigger than either of them: a cutaway view of the hole reveals a rabbit paradise with its own beachfront and Ferris wheel. Imagination makes the strangest things possible. Ages 5-8. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Here's a collection of super-short stories, mainly in comics format, marked by author-illustrator Gay's signature energy, cheerful near-chaos, and abundance of humor. Characters recur--and not just the happily messy children in Gay's diverse mix, but also snails, worms, and ants. The book's layout is varied and creative, with panels themselves often incorporated into the art. Original, inventive, pore-over-able, and child-pleasing. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Nineteen short stories explore some enormously funny ideas. Ideas are big and things are often more than they seem in each of these brief vignettes, which are divided like chapters. One story shows snails having anxious nightmares about going too fast; another has a mother who foils her children's bedtime games with her ability to see through ceilings; and still another explores the secret life of rabbits as they enjoy a whimsical subterranean wonderland. Although the diverse cast of characters seems to occasionally appear across multiple narratives, each of the stories is separate and self-contained, allowing readers to decide if and how the snapshot vignettes might be connected. Nearly all of the stories are paneled, employ speech bubbles, and are presented in sweeping double-page spreads, providing an early primer for readers working their way toward graphic novels, as the author's frenetic, childlike illustrations and deceptively simple narratives each hit with a potent humor just this side of nonsense. Readers searching for an anchor of plot among the playful absurdity may find themselves a little disoriented, but fans of Louis Sachar's Wayside School stories and Shel Silverstein's repertoire of drawings will delight as this picture book joins their ranks. Frivolity for surface amusement with a touch of poignancy for pondering. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In her distinctive style a pleasant clutter of ink, watercolor, and collage Gay offers up a collection of comicslike gag strips. A boy wearing a pillow case brags about his invisibility, and he proves to be right when no one will pay attention him. A pair of snails meet for tea improbably inside one of the pair's own shell. Soft jabs at parents make an appearance, such as the strip featuring a mother who can see what her child is up to through the very floor, and another revealing the truth behind such common claims as carrots are good for your eyes (a bespectacled rabbit begs to differ). As in any collection, some of the stories are better than others, but Gay's whimsical artwork is always a treat. Animated creatures are just as expressive as the rosy-cheeked children, and imaginative scenes fill the pages with bright colors and bold shapes. Little ones will appreciate the bite-size nature of these playful stories and gentle jokes, as well as the riotous spreads packed with lively details.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist