Gr 3-6--A young artist tells about his family using puns created from animal names. His father predicts the weather ("It looks like reindeer") and his grandfather laments ("my herring is gone"). The book's heavily contrived premise highlights the forced humor; even children who like puns will find some of Cleary's wordplay a stretch. The artwork is a surrealistic mix of dark oil paintings and collage. The images they create are obtuse and do little to explain the jokes. For humorous puns and plays on words, try poetry by Prelutsky or Silverstein. A good riddle book or even some homemade knock-knock jokes will be more enjoyable for most children than this odd offering.
Ellen M. Riordan, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD
Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Card catalog description
A boy paints a humorous picture of the members of his family, describing them in pun-filled rhymes based on animal names.
See all customer reviews...
