Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big [Hardcover]

Berkeley Breathed (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

Edwurd Fudwupper spends all his time cooking up big fibs. But one day, he tells such a humdinger that the army, the air force and the dog catcher are called to try to reverse the damage wrought. An unlikely heroine comes to his rescue.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Berkeley Breathed ("Bloom County") continues his successful second life as a first-rate children's storyteller. In the spirit of A Wish for Wings That Work and Red Ranger Came Calling, Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big celebrates Breathed's ample cartooning skill while incorporating a more weighty, atmospheric style to tell a simple story that makes intelligent use of both. Energetic, silly, "Bloom County"-esque caricatures provide contrast to some truly impressive set pieces, fat with color and playfully composed. And that's just the illustrations.

Edwurd's hilarious story is told by his overlooked little sister Fannie: "From a long line of liars, there's none higher upper... / Than my fibbing big brother, / The Edward Fudwupper." This accomplished yarn-spinner just can't seem to stop himself, "like the time he fibbed big / And told Ben and Dinky / That I had been borne by / A poodle named Stinky." But after an accident in the den with Mom's porcelain pig, Edwurd goes too far and implicates a couple of "passionate porkers" from Pluto. Soon the military arrives in full force, "with planes and with tanks and with loud whirligigs!" (Not to mention a very serious-looking helicopter with a banner encouraging the frightened populace below to "STAY CALM.") But this proves to be the least of Edwurd's worries, and in the end it's up to brave Fannie to save the day with a fib of her very own. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

From Publishers Weekly

"From a long line of liars, there's none higher upper.../ Than my fibbing big brother,/ The Edwurd Fudwupper," laments Fannie, a timid girl with freckles and corkscrews of orange hair. She only wants some attention from Edwurd, a mutated Dennis the Menace with a red-striped shirt, monstrously large head and creepy grin. But Edwurd is too busy fabricating stories to be her friend. In a sequence too convoluted to recount fully, Edward breaks a ceramic pig, lies about the deed and draws hostile attention from a three-eyed alien whose purple potbelly could easily contain the entire Earth ("Oh, it was dreadful! A real world stopper!/ All from an Edwurd Fudwupper fat whopper!"). When Fannie tells a "fat fib" of her own and saves the planet, she finally earns Edwurd's affection. Breathed (A Wish for Wings That Work) alternates ink-and-watercolor caricatures with ultra-high-contrast images, but their caustic whites and poison greens exude an almost radioactive glow. The author may approach the meters of Dr. Seuss ("Who is this gnat? Point out where he's at!/ Show him to me and I'll swat him down flat!" says the alien), but the tone, like the art, is mean-spirited and unfunny. All ages. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316106755
• ISBN-13: 978-0316106757
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 0.5 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Berkeley Breathed lives and works in Santa Barbara, California and is the proud owner of a gentle pit bull named Ridley, a deaf dachshund named Milly, and a refugee mutt from the Puerto Rican streets named Pilar--splendidly flawed dogs, every one.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fibbin' Fudwuppers Batman!, August 18, 2000

By 

Leah Palmieri (Jackson, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big (Hardcover)

Fannie Fudwupper's big brother is no ordinary big brother. Some little boys are good at baseball or basketball, but Edwurd's talent lies in his ability to craft the most outrageously creative fibs ever. One day he goes too far. He tells a fib so fantastic, so far-fetched, that it sends everyone--including the dog catcher, the air force, and even those two galaxies down--into a panic. Has the damage been done? Will Edwurd face certain punishment? Read the book, and find out. I did, and found a new favorite kids book! The wonderful illustrations and text come together to make a laugh-out-loud story for kids and adults. And parents will love the message--honesty IS the best policy.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Surprise At Our Surprise Party, September 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big (Hardcover)

My son had his sixth birthday party yesterday and one of the presents was this book. Never having been a comic strip reader, I was unfamiliar with the author but found each page to be more engagaing and amazing than the one before. It's a very witty story but the jaw-dropping, realistic-yet-fantastic three-deminsional paintings had us spending more time on the picturs than the words. We read it not once, not twice, but three times last night. In just 24 hours we've become full-blown fans of this author and I just orderd two other books. Bet the Amazon.com stock bounces back just by people like me buying other Berkley Breathed children's books.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another hilarious work of art!, June 25, 2001

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big (Hardcover)

Edwurd Fudwupper is the greatest of liars, and who would know better that his sister Fannie? Edwurd's fibs become bigger (and more effective), until he finally comes to the attention of a certain someone--a someone he would rather not come to the attention of. Only one thing can save Edwurd now, the love of a sister he had not deigned to notice before.

Berkeley Breathed has produced another hilarious work of art! My seven-year-old son insisted on reading this book to me, not once, but three times straight through! The story is hilarious, and the illustrations have the right amount of kookiness to make the story funnier still. If you have children, then you must get this book. (If nothing else, to see the fate of poor Mabel Dill!)