The Stupids Take Off [Hardcover]

Harry G. Allard Jr. (Author), James Marshall (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1989 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

To avoid a visit from boring Uncle Carbuncle, the Stupids take off in the family plane but end up meeting even more stupid relatives in their travels.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Allard and Marshall are more than ever in tune with their Stupid characters. Using their plane, the loopy family take off on an early vacation to escape a visit from boring Uncle Carbuncle. Piloted by faithful feline Xylophone and accompanied by dogmatic hound Kitty, they drop in unannounced on sundry Stupid relations. Among those readers meet are Little Patty, who celebrates her sixth birthday with eight candles on her cake; Uncle Artichoke, who has an impressive diving board (no swimming pool) in his back yard; and Farmer Joe, whose pencil crop is not doing so well. Safely back home, the Stupids don their old-fashioned diving equipment and go to bed. This is in the same format as the other wonderful Stupid books: simple text on left-hand page, colorful cartoony illustration on the right. Recommended for all those who appreciate the deep belly laugh that bypasses all logical explanation. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- Back in another adventure, the Stupid family now takes an unplanned trip in order to avoid a visit from the dreaded Uncle Carbuncle. On their day-long travels, they run into a series of other Stupid relatives, and finally return home. Few books delight young readers more than wonderfully silly offerings, such as Judith Barrett's Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (Atheneum, 1978) and Mercer Mayer's What Do You Do with a Kangaroo? (Scholastic, 1975), in which children's growing knowledge of the real world lets them in on the joke. Allard and Marshall have filled the pages of this book with lots of silliness and sight gags--but if a book is nothing but a series of bad puns and weak humor, it falls flat. Some readers might enjoy this latest of the Stupid adventures, but many will find it more like a collection of bad knock-knock jokes. While The Stupids Step Out (1974) and The Stupids Have a Ball (1978) had cohesive stories and wit, this entry resembles The Stupids Die (1981, all Houghton) in its lame attempt to entertain. There is more "Yuck!" than good yucks. --Virginia E. Jeschelnig, Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, Willowick, OH
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (October 30, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395500680
• ISBN-13: 978-0395500682
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 10.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Allard is the author of several hilarious books for children. He currently lives in Oaxaca, Mexio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Stupids Take Off, June 22, 2010

By 

Kathleen Korkishko (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Stupids Take Off (Paperback)

As far as the other Stupids books, this one is our least favorite.....humor fails even for readers seven years old.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Funny Book, August 29, 2007

By 

A&EMomma "TWGMISME" (Gilbert, AZ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Stupids Take Off (Paperback)

Bought this for my grandson for Christmas and he LOVED it. At 10, he realizes that it's a "stupid" book, but appreciated the silliness of it. And it continued his great enjoyment of reading just for fun.