Boy Wonders

by Calef Brown, Calef Brown (Illustrator)

Overview

Have you ever wondered, quizzically thought?

Have questions or queries that make you distraught?

If you need to inquire,

Then you might require

A book such as this.

(It’s not to be missed.)

Pull up a chair, throw your hand in the air.

He’ll answer your questions

…and answer with flair!

For all those “why why why” kids out there, Calef Brown has a few questions of his own: Is water scared of waterfalls? Are clambakes good for bake sales? Are phones annoyed when no one calls? Do jealous clouds steal each other’s thunder? Each question is wackier than the last and is sure to drum up some good laughs. As sublime as it is provocative, Boy Wonders will spur many a discussion—because though the questions are aplenty, readers must provide the answers!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442435506
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/28/2011
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
Lexile:	AD520L (what's this?)
File size:	78 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Calef Brown is the #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of Flamingos on the Roof, Tippintown, Dutch Sneakers and Fleakeepers, and Polkabats and Octopus Slacks. He lives in Maine.

Editorial Reviews

Runaway punnery and nonstop questions drive this rhyming book, which calls attention to similar-sounding words and figures of speech. Brown's (Hallowilloween) title refers to a pensive boy who asks, "Are you ever perplexed? Completely vexed?" and unleashes his ruminations. The text, illustrated in surreal acrylics that convey an imagination in overdrive, opens in a high-energy yet manageable way: "Do bees get hives?/ Do onions cry?/ Is pepper apt to sneeze?/ Do paper plates/ and two-by-fours/ remember being trees?" As pages turn, absurd tongue-twisters and weird images accumulate, as in a portrait of a frowning blue-violet bird in an icy landscape: "Would a happy toucan/ from the Yucatan/ become cantankerous/ up in Anchorage/ or the Yukon?/ How about in Tucson?" Enjoyment depends on a pleasure in assonance and consonance, and a capacity to deconstruct skewed metaphors ("Do clouds get jealous during storms,/ and steal each other's thunder?"); more than anything, this one seems likely to spur discussions about the idioms, animals, and vocabulary that appear within. Brown keeps the pace fast and furious, and his warped wordplay suggests a caffeinated Jon Agee. Ages 4–8. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 1–4—The connotations of everyday words and sayings are pondered and turned inside out and upside down in this wholly original paean to intellectual curiosity. The title sets the tone for one ever-wondering youngster's take on the meaning of words and ideas. The boy's delightfully nonsensical rhyming questions reveal no clear answers; they only spark more queries. Listeners will easily "get" the thinking behind some of the wordplay inherent in the child's questions ("Do taffy pullers ever push and make a glob of sticky mush?" "Do all giraffes have high-pitched laughs?"), but other wonderments require higher contextual knowledge ("Just for the sake or argument,/suppose I became an Argonaut./Would I say 'Arrgh' a lot, like a pirate?"). The artist's trademark stylized illustrations, flat, hip, and jazzy, are rendered in a palette of predominantly blue/green/yellow acrylics. With its large-scale illustrations and musical wordplay, this title is perfect for read-aloud sharing and will amuse and stimulate listeners of any age.—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT

School Library Journal

What does a boy wonder? Take a listen to this story of one imaginative youngster’s mind. Before one can even ponder, question, or query, this book peppers the listener with a barrage of questions. Do bees get hives? Is water scared of waterfalls? Do taffy pullers ever push? The good news is that answers abound—and so do more questions. Enunciation is key for the narrator of this book, and Greg Steinbruner speaks with precision and clarity. His pacing is speedy enough to highlight the multiple meanings, rhyme, and alliteration of the text, and he provides occasional pauses for contemplation. A.R. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

JULY 2012 - AudioFile

This boy doesn't just wonder, he throws readers a forceful invitation: "May I ask you something? / Are you ever perplexed? / Completely vexed? / Do you have questions? / Queries? / Odd theories?" He does.

Brown's book is in the grip of an effervescent momentum. Not that it really has anything to do with asking questions—of curiosity, of inquiry—though the boy sure does ask lots of questions. It is what, and especially how, he asks that spins the wheel. The story is shuttled along on Brown's fine artwork: slightly jittery, slightly sinister, with blasts of color alternating with pages in shadow and clever interpretations of the boy's increasingly loopy questions. His mind is a tinderbox to which Brown applies a match. "Do onions cry?" "Is water scared of waterfalls?" He adds some subversive wordplay as kindling: "Do clouds get jealous during storms, and steal each other's thunder?" And "[i]f I'm too tired, am I a bike?" Soon thereafter, great logs are thrown on the fire. "Would a happy toucan / from the Yucatan / become cantankerous / up in Anchorage / or the Yukon? / What about Tucson?"

In the end, the questions and words are whole lotta fun, but it is the music the book makes that is the most arresting entertainment.(Picture book. 6 & up)

Kirkus Reviews