Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? [Hardcover]

Lauren Child (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

Herb never imagined the dangers when he decided to scribble on and cut up his book of fairy tales. Drawing mustaches on the characters, pasting telephones into the rooms, and cutting out Prince Charming and the royal thrones had seemed like good fun. But then Herb never imagined he'd fall into the book one night. After contending with a petulant Goldilocks, a very angry wicked stepmother, and a disappointed Cinderella, all Herb wants to do is find his way off the page. If only he can escape the book, he can make everything happily ever after again… sort of. With exuberant collage illustrations and a hilarious text, award-winning author and illustrator Lauren Child has created a wild and irreverent romp through the land of fairy tales.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-When Herb falls asleep with his head on top of a dusty book of fairy tales, he finds himself stuck inside the volume with no quick way out. Chased by a raging Goldilocks, who is upset that he landed in her story, the boy journeys through a parade of fairy tales and finally gets caught in the middle of "Cinderella." All of his past mishandling of the book comes back to haunt him-Cinderella's kitchen is sticky with cookie crumbs, the Queen does not appreciate the mustache Herb has drawn on her face, and Prince Charming has been missing since he was cut out of the book and used as a birthday-card decoration. Child's wildly expressive collages include boldly patterned backgrounds, cartoon characters, and photographs in unexpected places. The text (and font) grows and shrinks and winds jaggedly through the story, and turns upside down on several pages. This fast-paced creative tale has some really funny moments. However, children may find it a bit frenetic. While Child's "Clarice Bean" titles (Candlewick) are grounded by that strong, familiar central character, here the disparate elements of the story sometimes feel as if they are literally flying off the edges of the pages.
Shelley B. Sutherland, Niles Public Library District, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 3. Here's a book with a message that librarians can get behind. It's about fairy-tale characters who berate their storybook's owner for having defaced its pages. The game is up when Herb, the same googly-eyed boy from Child's Beware of the Storybook Wolves (2003), dozes off while reading and tumbles right into the story. As he meets its disgruntled characters, their doodled moustaches and other incongruities jog his memory of a time, "long, long ago," when he had treated this book not so kindly. Guilty as charged, Herb pulls some stunts worthy of Harold and his purple crayon, then sets things to rights. Crazily collaged artwork, freewheeling typefaces, and a pull-out spread of Cinderella's ball (minus Cinderella and Prince Charming--guess who's to blame?) contribute to the sense of reigning mayhem. Children old enough to grasp the play on books as both physical objects and repositories of story will enjoy this; perhaps they'll even be less apt to give their own books (or borrowed ones) the personal treatment. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (October 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786809264
• ISBN-13: 978-0786809264
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 10.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #949,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lauren Child is the multi-talented prize-winning creator of the characters Charlie and Lola, Clarice Bean and Hubert Horatio Bobton-Trent. She has won the Smarties Gold Award, Smarties Bronze Award, Kate Greenaway Medal and been shortlisted for the Children's Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. Lauren lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great great GREAT! A challenging and exciting read for kids, December 7, 2005

By 

A. Woodley "Patroness, Janeites, the Austen list" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? (Hardcover)

This is a great book for younger kids who want to be challenged in their reading. The illustrations are fun, but the text is everywhere - it goes up and down, it is upside down, and it even goes in circles.

This is the story of a little boy who falls asleep on his book and falls into the story. He then discovers alll the problems he has caused by playing around with it. Prince charming is missing, the ugly sisters are upside down, the queen has no throne, and there are telephones in all the pictures. This allows the various characters to phone one another and make more trouble for him.

It is a lot of fun reading for adults and children and you instantly recognise the distinctive Lauren child illustrations - a mixture of collage and simple pictures - women with slanty eyes and pointy chins - Cinderella is even slightly cross-eyed.

This is a great book full of in-jokes kids really enjoy. The text is challenging for kids - it goes all over the place and gives them fun trying to work it out.

I would really recommend Lauren Child as a good read everytime.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightfully imaginative book!, July 6, 2006

By 

Love2Read "Love2Read" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? (Hardcover)

I have always been a fan of Lauren Child's "Charlie and Lola" series, so I was very excited to come across this book at the library. It does not disappoint! I am a preschool teacher and mother to three children under the age of 5. I read a LOT of childrens books, both at school and to my own children. I must say this is one of the most delightful stories I have read in a long time. My 4 year old daughter also got a huge kick out of it, although she insisted the main character Herb was actually Charlie as a young boy, haha. Although I mainly check out books from the library, this is one that I will most certainly purchase for my childrens' permanent collection.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When Fairy Tale Characters Become Alive, February 28, 2004

By 

Lane Young "Teacher and Librarian" (Highland Park, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? (Hardcover)

A year ago, when Herb was "much much younger", he defaced a fairytale book of his. When he goes to sleep one night with his face in the book, he awakes and finds he has fallen into the book. As a result of his drawing and cutting, Cinderella has missed her chance to marry Prince Charming (who was cut out to be part of a birthday card), and the Queen, who is quite upset over her missing throne, discovers that it was Herb who has messed up everything. This starts a wonderful chase sequence that leads to a pleasing ending. The art layout is sometimes too busy, but children who can handle the distractions will find a delightful book.