Sunday, January 10, 2010

Have I Got a Book for You! by Melanie Watt


Hey, you! Yes, you! Are you looking for a book? Something to read to pass the time, maybe? Something to entice, excite, and invigorate your life? Has Mr. Al Foxword got a book for you!

Watt’s latest books features much the same tone as her earlier books Scaredy Squirrel and Chester, but this time she turns her attention to book sellers. Well, not book selling in particular, but the same hyper, frantic, informercial-style method of hawking that makes me kind of want a Snuggie despite all the ridiculousness. The book is amusing but not in the same engaging way as Chester or Scaredy Squirrel; it’s a one-joke book, but that joke lasts just about the length of a picture book. The end gag did make me smile, but I’m not rushing to read it again, although I continue to be interested in what Watt will come out with next. I would pair this book as an adult read-alike for But Wait, There’s More!, a non-fiction book about the TV infomercial world.

Find it at Amazon.

Read with:
But Wait, There's More! by Remy Stern
Chester by Melanie Watt
Wolves by Emily Gravett

I got this book: from the library.

5 comments:

  1. Just found this one on the new book table at my library and immediately bought it for the school library. It's going to be major fun in THE PIT!

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  2. I confess I found this one pretty tiresome (as you say, it's the same gag extended through the whole book). I am a BIG Scaredy fan, and I just think that this book doesn't have the same cleverness. I'm interested to see how kids respond though, because sometimes they love something that I just don't really get.

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  3. Shelf Elf, that's pretty much how I felt - but you raise such a good point about kids. I haven't seen them read it; I'll keep an eye out around our library!

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  4. Let me just say that my kids LOVED this book. They had me read it to them over and over when we checked out of the library (on the basis of She wrote Scaredy Squirrel!! She wrote Chester!!) And they loved the last page. I had the same "not-so-sure-about-this-one" response, but when called upon, I read it with gusto and my kids, at least, were definitely not bummed.

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