Good News, Bad News

by Jeff Mack

Overview

Good news, Rabbit and Mouse are going on a picnic. Bad news, it is starting to rain. Good news, Rabbit has an umbrella. Bad news, the stormy winds blow the umbrella (and Mouse!) into a tree.

So begins this clever story about two friends with very different dispositions. Using just four words, Jeff Mack has created a text with remarkable flair that is both funny and touching, and pairs perfectly with his energetic, and hilarious, illustrations.

Good news, this is a book kids will clamor to read again and again!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452101101
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	07/04/2012
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Jeff Mack is the author and illustrator of many books for young readers including Hush Little Polar Bear, Frog and Fly, and Clueless McGee. He lives carefree in Western Massachusetts where all the clouds have silver linings and everyone's glass is half-full. Visit him online at www.jeffmack.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Young listeners are certain to clamor for this one again and again . . . and that is good news.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Good news, this isn’t just a book about attitude, it also hits home the message about the importance of friendship. Bad news, there really isn’t any bad news about this delightful book" - Bookends, a Booklist Blog

FamilyFun Magazine's "Our Favorite Things"

"Sometimes the most brilliant picture books can teach us more in fewer words than even "great" literature can. Good News, Bad News is one of those books. " - WABC-TV

"Will allow you to teach lessons about the importance of a good attitude" - SavvyAuntie

"Very cute... I also appreciated that there were a few good messages thrown in about friendship and the power of staying positive!" - BookingMama

"May feature just four short words, but it’s extra-long on heart- Daily Candy Kids

"Good for storytimes or independent reading" - School Library Journal

"A gentle, entertaining way to bring up the concept of looking for the positive." - Design Mom

"A fun book about looking at the bright side of things" - GeekDad

44 Books that Teach Sympathy - Common Sense Media

"This offering is, to borrow the rabbit’s two words, good news." - The Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

Working from a text composed solely of the titular phrases (plus one final qualifier) in an ongoing call and response, Mack depicts a day among friends whose dispositions couldn't be more extreme. Rabbit is an optimist; framed by a soft, white cloud, he exhibits an overflowing picnic basket joyfully to his buddy. An ominous, grey formation shades Mouse's skeptical reaction. When the storm begins, the fun-lover produces an umbrella; the frowner is blown into a tree. Happily, it's an apple tree. Unhappily, the fruit descends forcefully on the fallen rodent. So it proceeds in a fashion reminiscent of Remy Charlip's Fortunately (1964). The difference here is that viewers see the events through two distinct lenses, and the pair are not only experiencing the same situations, they are mindful of one another's reactions. The artist manipulates body language and facial features to register a range of emotions through caricatures with personality to spare. Endpapers divided into 18 squares contain images than can inspire a variety of storytelling behaviors from prediction to sequencing. When a bear chases the duo up a flagpole, and lightning fries them to charred silhouettes (à la cartoons of yesteryear--sensitive readers beware), Rabbit's worldview is clearly rocked, but now it is Mouse's turn to find the silver lining. An instructive and entertaining primer on the art of friendship and the complexity of joy. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews