Willy the Dreamer (Hardcover)

~ (Author, Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his fifth book about Willy the chimp, Browne gives a smart, playful nod to Magritte, Rousseau, Dali and other artists whose paintings were often more the stuff of dreams than of real life. Browne's whimsical borrowings and witty visual puns stretch this volume's appeal far beyond the typical picture-book audience. And though Willy's youngest fans may not get the full picture, they'll likely take a naif's pleasure in the dream-like quirks and incongruities packed into each watercolor. Dozing in an armchair, the chimp envisions himself a movie star in guises that include Mary Poppins, Dracula and Charlie Chaplin; a singer who's a ringer for Elvis; a ballet dancer in a lacy tutu and toe shoes fashioned from bananas; a famous writer surrounded by simian versions of Sir John Tenniel's Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter and other residents of Wonderland. And from the moment they view Browne's fetching cover illustration, kids will keep their eyes peeled for the inventively placed bananas in Willy's dream scenes. A parody of the famous picture inscribed "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" doubles in irreverence when a curved banana half fills in for the pipe; a Cowardly Lion's tail ends in a flourish of banana. Whether readers are wholly untutored or art history experts, the closer they look, the more jokes they will find. Fresh, funny and full of surprises. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 2^-4, younger with a grown-up. This fifth picture book in Browne's series about Willy the chimp represents quite a departure from the others. Using a noticeably larger format, Browne has taken his endearing chimp and placed him center stage in a series of framed, often well-known paintings, which are meant to be visual representations of Willy's fantastic dreams. Willy appears as Elvis Presley, as a sumo wrestler, as a ballet dancer, and as a superhero. Sometimes Willy is not presented as a particular character. Instead, he's simply depicted as part of a strange landscape, which calls up the work of such famous, possibly familiar artists as Salvador Daliand Winslow Homer. There is no plot, but children will enjoy the superbly illustrated book for its imaginative and humorous artwork, and teachers can use it to inspire youngsters to create their own book of fantasies, or to introduce the artists and paintings Browne is spoofing. Lauren Peterson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (March 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763618837
• ISBN-13: 978-0763618834
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 10.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,073,864 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dreamer's dream, August 2, 2000

By	Adriana Villanueva (Caracas, Miranda Venezuela) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Willy the Dreamer (Hardcover)

Don't be fooled by the reading label of this book, 4-8; the real reading label, or shall we say the enjoying label is 4 to 100 because this book is an homenage to culture on the 20th century. Willy is a little monkey (Anthony Browne's alter ego?), with all the vulnerabilities of a sensible child(you must read the four previous Willy's books), but in Willy the dreamer he doesn't have to face the problems that a sensible child must face in his every day's life, in Willy the dreamer our heroe just falls asleep in his confortable chair to be the king of rock and roll; a character of a favorite movie; or of a favorite fairy tale; a sumo wrestler; or just a father. If you're an art lover you will love the homenage to great artists of the century: Magritte, Dalí, De Chirico. Don't worry if you're not an art conossieur because this book has so many readings, so many hidden messages, so many bananas, so many dreams that it can fit any child and grownup imagination. If you want to encourage your child to be a dreamer, you must give him this book. If you're a dreamer yourself, this surely will be the book for you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different, April 20, 2000

By	"casle" (Scotts Mills, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Willy the Dreamer (Hardcover)

Different is good! Willy dreams of being everything from Elvis to a Sumo wrestler. There are so many different things to look at in Anthony Browne's books, it's almost a shame to read them quickly. I do so at our library's storytime but the real way to read this book is laying on the floor with a friend. I showed this book to my 20 year old son yesterday, now he wants a copy. I told him to check it out, and you should too!

5.0 out of 5 stars Bananas and Art, March 23, 2008

By	Kristen Fournier "kr!sten" (austin, tx, usa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This children's book has more than meets the eye. While the book itself on the surface is a clever treatment to a child-aged gorilla's fantasies of having adventures flying, exploring and morphing into monsters, there is definitely a deeper level.

The treatment of gorillas and bananas is so thorough- a mermaid's tail becomes a banana, a hot air balloon becomes a gorilla's face. You could read this book over and over again to count the secret bananas, and also, for older readers, to compare them to great works of art in many mediums, including those by Rene Magritte, Salvador Dali, Charlie Chaplin, Lewis Carroll, Norman Rockwell, Maurice Sendak and more.