The Walloping Window-Blind (Hardcover)

~ Jim Lamarche (Author, Illustrator) "A capital ship for an ocean trip Was the Walloping Window-blind..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like the wacky crew of the ship in Carryl's classic nonsense poem, readers will "cheerily put to sea" in this captivating picture book. With his brush dipped in the same luminous colors that lit up The Rainbabies , LaMarche puts a fresh face on the adventures aboard the Window-blind , here presented as a highly original craft (part airplane, part sailing ship) with a multicultural crew composed entirely of children. Larger-than-life perspectives invite readers to step right in and participate, whether the cast is dipping the cook "in a tub of his gluesome food" or watching the "apparently mad" gunner "fire salutes in the captain's boots / In the teeth of a booming gale." LaMarche's gleeful illustrations capture the spirit of this rollicking read-aloud; there's a sense of joy and abandon in his artwork, as well as genuine wonder, which taps deeply into the intensely felt imaginary worlds of children. The result is pure magic. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-LaMarche has adapted Carryl's rollicking 19th-century sailing fantasy and set it in a 20th-century, child-centered world. His paintings create vivid scenes of captain and crew-the helmsman reads a comic book and eats oreos in his bunk; the young girl in a commodore's hat munches on a hot dog in her cabin. What the book doesn't offer is a vivid translation of the poem. Gone in this version are the jingoist lines, but also some wonderful images. A gunner who "fired salutes in the captain's boots" is not quite the same as Carryl's who "fired salutes with the captain's boots." Also, LaMarche has eliminated the Binnacle-bats and ends the poem, not with the merry commandeering of a Chinese junk ("we left the crew of the junk to chew/ The bark of the rubagub tree"), but with the stock sweet image "We plotted our course for the Land of Blue Horse,/Due west 'cross the Peppermint Sea." What makes a poem appealing to young readers is not seeing themselves mirrored in illustrations, but rather the imaginative use of language. Fans of the Window Blind will do well to turn to Ted Rand's interpretation (Arcade, 1992), which also includes its music and chorus.
Kathleen Whalin, Greenwich Country Day School, CT
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (April 29, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688125174
• ISBN-13: 978-0688125172
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 7.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,185,563 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Capital Book !, October 28, 2003

By	Cynthia Monroe (Anchorage, Alaska) - See all my reviews

The illustrations are excuse enough for anyone of any age to want this book, but the way the text and illustrations play off of one another is magic. The gorgeous pastels and the rythym of the language captivated our 18-month-old, and now that she is 3, it is still a favorite. This is one we are always happy to read aloud, no matter how many repetitions are requested. Thank you, Jim LaMarche!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun!, October 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Walloping Window-Blind (Library Binding)

I'd never seen the poem before, so this was a first for me. The pictures are beautiful, and go along very well with the words...they are creative and up-to-date. Ex. For toasted pig, the captain eats a toasted hot dog, and for figs, fig newtons. I read the book to my 3rd grade students. They especially liked that the kids were playing the parts that would normally go to grown-ups. As one said about the book,"That's cool"! A good book to use when talking about the difference between real and make-believe, also a good jumping point to writing fantasy stories or poems.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing. Cute, but the story and pix don't match well., May 15, 1999

By A Customer

This presentation of the classic nonsense poem is not as good as pervious publications of it as a song. Previously, the song carried a fun tune, and the illustrations actually followed the story well. In this version, the illustrations follow the story in only the vaguest way. Using children as the crew, and the use of vibrant colors, would have worked well had the illustrations actually matched the text.

Sometimes newer approaches are just not better.