Grandma and Grandad recall to their grandchildren their entire lives - adventurous babies, outrageous school children, and disastrous teenagers, who grew up to be a stunt man and a film star. But they expect to one day just drop dead - and they could be recycled as anything.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2. Cole's wacky, way-out sense of humor seems misplaced here. Asked by their two grandchildren why they are such "bald old wrinklies," an elderly pair trace their history back to when they were "bald wrinkly babies." They learned "how to say simple words like poo-poo and pee-pee," and to crawl, stand on one leg, run, and jump. Then they went to school. This same minimal list of activities continues through college, falling in love, marriage, and old age, ending with, "One day we'll just drop down dead like everyone else." Reincarnation is given a nod with the statement, "We might be recycled as anything at all! An octopus, a moose, a new baby...a pickled onion, an alien, or even two scrawny chickens." Birth, growth, old age, and death do describe the basic human life cycle, yet the image of dropping over dead may be disconcerting to many children. The book also gives an incomplete message since death happens in various ways?not everyone just drops dead. Cole's active watercolors are droll and amusing, yet even humor and fantasy need some internal logic. Many of these pictures just don't have it. The flat text does little to clarify things.?Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
Cole (The Bad Good Manners Book, 1996, etc.) proves that she can fracture more than Emily Post in this eccentric tale subtitled ``Or how we grew from one-year-old bald wrinklies into eighty-year-old bald wrinklies.'' A question from their grandchildren--``Gran and Grandad, why are you such bald old wrinklies?''--prompts two elderly folks to recite the major events of their lives, from birth to the moment they drop dead and are then ``recycled,'' returning as two scrawny chickens. In between they ``learned dribbling and burping . . . driving Dad's car . . . falling in love with the wrong person.'' They become stunt people, marry on location, and have ``your dad,'' a baby who jumps through a flaming hoop and into bed. They lose teeth, go bald, forget things, and recognize that their time will soon be up. In Cole's comical scenes, this couple strides through life together, as if they have known each other since birth--exactly the way children picture their older relatives. Pair this with Margaret Wild's Old Pig (1996) for a fairly complete definition of aging and death--one funny, one tender--aimed at the young. (Picture book. 5-7) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Lame humor, sketchy illustrations & inappropriate theme,
By
This review is from: Drop Dead (Hardcover)
pretty inappropriate - it goes through all the things the grandparents did in their day
like smoking and dating and drugs, and that's subject matter suitable for teenagers not kids 5+ like this book is aimed at, and ends with "one day we'll just drop dead, like everybody else". some people might find it hip and cool way of raising children, but I find it simply inappropriate.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wouldn't be dead for quids!,
By Megami (Darwin, Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Drop Dead (Hardcover)
The kids ask their grandparents "Why are you such bald old wrinklies?" The grandparents explain that they weren't always old wrinklies - that they started out as baby wrinklies, and since then they have lead exciting lives on their way to becoming old. This book helps kids realise that old people were young people once too, without being preachy about it .
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jono reviews "Drop Dead",
By Jono Adrian (Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Drop Dead (Hardcover)
Drop Dead reveals the life story of 2 grandparents in a comical & humerous way. Using limited text; but wonderfully colourful and detailed illustations, their life story begins their Grandchildren asking why their Granparents are so bald and wrinkly, the Grandparents reveal, with much humour their developments through all of lifes stages. This book teaches ytoung children about life in a very truthful and humerous fashion. It can be enjoyed by all members of the family and is an excellent point for didcussion
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