Max in Hollywood, Baby [Hardcover]

Maira Kalman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Max the Parisian poet dog is commissioned to write and direct his first Hollywood feature film, so he and his bride, the dazzling dalmatian Cre+a3pes Suzette, embark on a trip to Tinseltown.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ordinarily, a dog's life isn't characterized by glamour, but Max Stravinsky, canine extraordinaire, runs with the in-crowd. Max, last sighted among the poodles and bulldogs of gay Paree in Ooh-la-la (Max in Love) , here continues his postmodern, exceedingly quirky adventures. This time he's in Tinseltown to pen a "sugar-smackin, rootin-tootin, high-spy, sci-fi . . . madcap musical mystery" script, and he gets star treatment--even coasting around in a limo chauffeured by the fabulously suave Ferrrnando stet Extra Debonnaire. Kalman takes artistic risks even beyond those of her earlier titles, freewheelingly experimenting with different styles, sizes and colors of type, and sometimes substituting cleverly manipulated chunks of text for illustrations. However, the romance and wonderment are absent, replaced by all-out hipness; Kalman doesn't attain the high standards she set in Ooh-la-la . Her oddball wit remains--who else would correlate "Film noir, Mel Blanc"--and Max is still cult-hero material, but this book will ultimately amuse adults more than kids. All ages.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2 Up-- When readers last saw that debonair dog Max, he had met his true love in Paris and was off to seek fame and fortune in Tinseltown ( Ooh-la-la Max in Love, Viking, 1991). This book recounts his Hollywood adventures with the same irreverence, eccentricities, and sardonic wit that make Kalman's other books so unique and so memorable. Once again, the vivid, surreal illustrations punctuate the zany text, but may also stand alone in their offbeat and on-target commentaries. If possible, Max's cinematic antics meet and surpass his earlier escapades as an outlandish expose on human behavior. Children will be caught up in the frenetic rhythms and rhymes of the text, but the allusions to the mocking of the Golden Age of Hollywood, as well as filmdom's contemporary gurus, will be lost on them. Hopefully, this creative masterpiece will find its way into the hands of sophisticated older children and those adults who will appreciate its ingenuity. --Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1st edition (October 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670844799
• ISBN-13: 978-0670844791
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,148,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maira Kalman is an illustrator, author, and designer. She has created many covers for The New Yorker, including the famous map of Newyorkistan (created with Rick Meyerowitz). Ms. Kalman's twelve children's books include Max Makes a Million, Stay Up Late, Swami on Rye, and What Pete Ate. She also has designed fabric for Isaac Mizrahi, accessories for Kate Spade, sets for the Mark Morris Dance Company, and, with her late husband Tibor Kalman under the M&Co. label, clocks, umbrellas, and other accessories for the Museum of Modern Art. Ms. Kalman's work is shown at the Julie Saul Gallery in Manhattan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 90210, BABY !, February 9, 2002

By 

MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Max in Hollywood, Baby (Hardcover)

It is easy to see why Maira Kalman's MAX IN HOLLYWOOD, BABY received a citation as "one of the ten best illustrated books of 1991." Those illustrations contain as many wonderful surprises and secrets, double meanings and jokes as the words they sit with. Even the end papers are filled with delightful drawings of dozens of Hollywood superstars from Charlie Chaplin and Fanny Brice to Judy Garland and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

The text is, I guess, written to entertain children but it is just as charming and entertaining to this adult with its story of the "real" Hollywood: Dozens of wacky Show-Biz types appear including the psychic to the stars, Madame Gilzelka; the producer, Bella Broccoli, who insists on drinking a concoction which produces "the secret of youth;" and his "tantalizing" starlet Monica Zitti; The hero is, of course, Max,the dog/movie-lover who becomes Mr. Stravinsky, hot-shot director pining to be a celebrity. ("I won't have conversations, I'll just have monologues.") Can our Max handle the pressure? the pretense? Well, you'll have to read the book to find out. Along the way you'll also discover why Ferrrnando Extra Debonnaire who studied at the Royal Academy of Driving Directors tells Max, "Watch your step in this town. There are some back-stabbing, power-hungry, status-seeking vegetarians here." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, especially for those readers determined to have a career in the movies, no matter how high the cost.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Max Hollywood is only the begining, August 19, 2000

By 

Maya Strauss (High Falls,NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Max in Hollywood, Baby (Hardcover)

Max in hollywood, baby is a great story, the author,Maira Kalman, has a real feel for charactors and is so in touch with Max that she is becoming that charactor, at least to me.If you read this book you will love it so much you will want to read all the Max books. I can speak as one who has read it and I fell in love with this charactor at once,maybe you think I am just babeling but I speak the truth.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Worst Max Book, January 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Max in Hollywood, Baby (Hardcover)

This is the worst Max book. Max Makes a Million is brilliant. Oh-La-La Max in Love is very strong. But this is just muddled, not easily grasped, and not very interesting. My kids never want to hear this book and I never want to read it.