'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Thursday 18 June 2009

Review: Help! I’m Cracking Up!

I love nonsense books, but they need to be done really really well. Thankfully, Tedd Arnold does more than do this book well – he does it brilliantly.

This gorgeous book’s textured, dynamic and very comical illustrations, complete with adorable bobble-eyes and stunning emotion, are as kitsch as they come, and adults will fight the kids to read this fantastically funny book on a regular basis.
The star of the book – a crazy, paranoid kid who takes life more than literally – finds himself falling apart and losing it, panicking over each and every harmless adage made in the world around him.

When asked by his dad to give him a hand for example, our wee man panics over how he is going to do without it, and how he can assure its adherence with some good strong glue.

Rhyme, something so hard to achieve well, suits this crazy book perfectly, and in fact, could probably have not been done in any other format, it works that well. 

My tongue’s a slimy, jiggly, squishy,
Slippery little squirt,
It’s be my luck to squeeze too hard,
And lose it in the dirt.

Enjoy this book, but just don’t lose your mind!

Title: Help! I’m Cracking Up!
Author/Illustrator: Tedd Arnold
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 0670029475
For ages: 3-9
Type: Picture Book