The Great Show-and-Tell Disaster (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Mike Cressy (Illustrator) "He went to his closet and dug out his stash..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Reiss (How Murray Saved Christmas) once again unleashes his knack for catchy, if occasionally forced, rhymes in another slapstick outing. Ned, when stumped at what to bring to school for show and tell resorts to a homemade Rube Goldberg contraption he dubs a "Word Mix-up Ray." His invention transforms his "aunt" into a "tuna," the grocer's "peas" into "apes" and his classmates, well "He made Brian a brain, with a big throbbing thinker,/ Changed Nat to an ant and made Kristen a stinker." A catastrophic field trip to the art museum finds Ned gleefully modifying the gallery ("making piecrust from pictures that hung on the walls," among other things), but eventually he finds a way to reverse the damage. Reiss's anagrams and corny light verse will appeal to a punchy sense of humor, but Cressy's colored pencil illustrations fare less well. Brisk, stylized cartoons reveal the artist's roots as an animator, but a grayish cast to the overall coloration dulls the spreads. It's an entertaining excursion nonetheless. Ages 5-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-This oversized book tells in rhyme the tale of a young inventor who assembles a gadget that transforms items into anagrams: a shoe becomes a hose, a lamp turns into a palm, etc. Classmates suffer the consequences as well. Nat becomes an ant and Kristen a stinker. Even worse, during the school trip to an art gallery, Ned transforms the sculpture of "The Kiss" into skis and pictures turn to pie crust. The protagonist rights most of the wrongs and returns home to consider his next creation. Affable cartoon illustrations assist the comedy that only can be appreciated by those able to understand anagrams, but the book will certainly spur follow-up attempts at wordplay by older readers.

Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Price Stern Sloan (October 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843176806
• ISBN-13: 978-0843176803
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 10.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #402,804 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Show and Tell Gone Wrong....., March 3, 2002

By	Roz Levine (Virginia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Poor Ned, today is show and tell and he has nothing to bring. So he goes to his closet and checks out his stash. "A rusty eggbeater, a toy laser beam,/A handheld electronic spelling machine./A Slinky with kinks and an old ping-pong paddle,/A snow globe that said "Having Fun in Seattle."/He smushed them together with duct tape and glue./He had an invention, but what did it do?" So he points and he clicks and the SHOE on his bed becomes a HOSE spraying cold water. He tries it again and his LAMP becomes a PALM, and it is then that he realizes he'd invented a Mixed-Up Ray, a contraption that takes words and makes crazy anagrams. His AUNT becomes a TUNA, PEAS become APES, and as soon as he points his ray at the kids at school, they begin to change. CATHY becomes a YACHT, NAT an ANT, BRIAN a BRAIN "with a big throbbing thinker",and his teacher, MRS ETON, a MONSTER. But things really become interesting when the class leaves on an art museum field trip..... Mike Reiss has written an engaging, manic romp that gets wilder and sillier with each page turn. His hilarious, rhyming text is full of energy and motion, and complemented by Mike Cressy's bold, bright, and busy cartoon-like illustrations. Together they've authored an entertaining chain of events story with a wonderfully clever solution. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, The Great Show-and-Tell Disaster is a delightful, high-spirited story kids will beg to read again and again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Un-believable and hilarious, March 7, 2002

A Kid's Review

This book is about a boy that makes a mix-up machine for show and tell. After he makes it everything starts going bonkers!!... This would be a good read aloud book for 4th grade or under. I really liked this book and if you like funny books than I think you will too

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful for kids and their parents!!, December 13, 2001

By	Jay Weinstein (Bethesda, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This is a great book for early readers and more importantly, a lot of fun for parents to read over and over! If Dr. Seuss were to mate with Marge Simpson, Mike Reiss would be the result! Buy and enjoy.