Max's Breakfast (Max and Ruby) [Board book]

Rosemary Wells (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 1 and up | Series: Max and Ruby

Ruby tries every trick she knows to get Max to eat his egg, finally demonstrating how yummy it is herself! All gone! chortles Max. Rosemary Wells's original four Max books, brought out in 1979, were the first high-quality board books published. Combined with the second four, published in 1985, total sales are over one million! And Mrs. Wells's followers are legion. Now she has completely reillustrated her eight delightful Max board books in her exciting and vibrant full-color style. The highly imaginative stories, loved by millions of young children, are even funnier with the new artwork. These are perfect first books, especially with the increased focus on the importance of reading to babies and toddlers, a cause that Mrs. Wells has been wholeheartedly promoting for several years with her The Most Important 20 Minutes of Your Day reading initiative.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 1 and up
  
• Board book: 12 pages
• Publisher: Dial (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803722737
• ISBN-13: 978-0803722736
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 6.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,051,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in New York City, Rosemary Wells grew up in a house "filled with books, dogs, and nineteenth-century music." Her childhood years were spent between her parents' home near Red Bank, New Jersey, and her grandmother's rambling stucco house on the Jersey Shore. Most of her sentimental memories, both good and bad, stem from that place and time. Her mother was a dancer in the Russian Ballet, and her father a playwright and actor. Mrs. Wells says, "Both my parents flooded me with books and stories. My grandmother took me on special trips to the theater and museums in New York. "Rosemary Wells's career as an author and illustrator spans more than 30 years and 60 books. She has won numerous awards, and has given readers such unforgettable characters as Max and Ruby, Noisy Nora, and Yoko. She has also given Mother Goose new life in two enormous, definitive editions, published by Candlewick. Wells wrote and illustrated Unfortunately Harriet, her first book with Dial, in 1972. One year later she wrote the popular Noisy Nora. "The children and our home life have inspired, in part, many of my books. Our West Highland white terrier, Angus, had the shape and expressions to become Benjamin and Tulip, Timothy, and all the other animals I have made up for my stories." Her daughters Victoria and Beezoo were constant inspirations, especially for the now famous "Max" board book series. "Simple incidents from childhood are universal," Wells says. "The dynamics between older and younger siblings are common to all families."But not all of Wells' ideas come from within the family circle. Many times when speaking, Mrs. Wells is asked where her ideas come from. She usually answers, "It's a writer's job to have ideas." Sometimes an idea comes from something she reads or hears about, as in the case of her recent book, Mary on Horseback, a story based on the life of Mary Breckenridge, who founded the Frontier Nursing Service. Timothy Goes to School was based on an incident in which her daughter was teased for wearing the wrong clothes to a Christmas concert. Her dogs, west highland terriers, Lucy and Snowy, work their way into her drawings in expression and body position. She admits, "I put into my books all of the things I remember. I am an accomplished eavesdropper in restaurants, trains, and gatherings of any kind. These remembrances are jumbled up and changed because fiction is always more palatable than truth. Memories become more true as they are honed and whittled into characters and stories."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Priceless story, but difficult to read aloud., November 16, 2002

By 

History_of_Art_Geek (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Max's Breakfast (Max and Ruby) (Board book)

Max doesn't like eggs, yet his big sister Ruby attempts to feed him one for breakfast. Max want strawberries, but Ruby insists he eat the egg first. Max tests his older sisters resolve by trying to get out of eating that egg: he covers it with a napkin, hides it on a chair, and finally climbs down from his chair, and hides under the table to avoid eating his breakfast. Ruby finds him, and demonstrates how good eggs are by taking a bite, "See, Max, said Ruby. It's a YUMMY, YUMMY EGG." One bite turns into two, and eventually Ruby eats the entire egg. Max tosses a strawberry into the air, and with a big grin on his face declares, "ALL GONE". Ruby is exasperated.

This cute story comes as a board book, and measures 7" x 7" x ¼". The text is very short; only ten pages long. Simply illustrated, yet the images are very expressive for easy comprehension. "MAX's Breakfast," is a funny tale about a picky eater, but as in many of Ms. Wells books, it is awkward to read aloud, "Eat your egg, Max, said Max's sister, Ruby." I have gotten to the point of discarding the last half of the sentences when reading her books, since they seems to flow better that way. Birth and up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best toddler books around, July 18, 2001

By 

slomamma (San Luis Obispo, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Max's Breakfast (Max and Ruby) (Board book)

Rosemary Wells is, without a doubt, the best writer for small children who ever lived, and the Max books are her masterpieces. This one is a perfect example of why she's so good. The story is so simple and so true to life a 1-year-old can easily follow it: Max's bossy big sister Ruby wants him to eat an egg. But Max doesn't want the egg, he wants strawberries. (And what toddler isn't going to identify with a picky eater?) Max keeps hiding the egg until an exasperated Ruby takes a bite herself, to show him how delicious it is, then another bite, and another. The final page shows Max with a triumphant look on his face saying "All gone."

Children love Max. Adults laugh out loud when they read the Max books. He's just a charmer and a scamp and you can't help but love him. There are several nice, pleasant books for toddler's available, but very few really entertaining ones. Max's Breakfast (and all of the Max books, for that matter) is one of the best.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Max at his funniest, September 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Max's Breakfast (Max and Ruby) (Board book)

My grandchildren and I love Max & Ruby stories. Ms. Wells is very clever in the way she illustrates the characters so that the reader can actually see Max thinking about how to not have to eat the egg. If your children haven't met Max yet, then this is definitely a book for an infant or young toddler, but children who have met Max love to go back and "read" the early boardbacks on their own. It's like visiting a familiar friend.