Customer Reviews

What Is A Wise Bird Like You Doing In A Silly Tale Like This?

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What do you get when you take a strange land called Pickleberry, inhabited by an emperor and his brother, the janitor, a very wise bird named Lou and Lou's, Aunt Millie, a half invisible man with half a large mustache, a traveling salesman and a bear who's lost his tail? Easy...a charming, creative, laugh-out-loud picture book by award winning author and illustrator, Uri Shulevitz. And Mr Shulevitz has done just about the impossible, woven three seemingly unrelated nonsensical stories together and made it work. His wonderfully absurd text, full of imagery, made-up words and wild, ridiculous events is only outdone by his truly inspired and magical artwork and youngsters will be mesmerized by the colorful, detailed, expressive illustrations. What is a Wise Bird Like You Doing in a Silly Tale Like This? is a very special story, really three special stories, that's perfect for children aged 4 and older. Uri Shulevitz never disappoints and he's not starting now!

The little gnomish people on the front cover encouraged me to open it up, and I was pleasantly rewarded with a tale that is as engaging as the colorful illustrations. The tale is indeed silly, with a few tales of its own tucked inside. I liked the way that Shulevitz didn't villainify the emperor - I find that most children's books have a clearly defined "bad" and "good," and Shulevitz allows children to see the traditional "bad guy" character as a person who has some flaws rather than evil incarnate. Great imaginative use of words. Most importantly, this book answers the question that has plagued mankind for centuries: "If one had an itch on a Sunday at 3:16 in the afternoon, should one scratch with the third finger of the right hand or with the second finger of the left hand?" You'll have to read the book to find out what answer this wise bird gives.