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Adventure of Meno by Tony & Angela DiTerlizzi

Book 1: Big Fun!

Book 2: Wet Friend!

Simon & Schuster; Oct. 09; 48pp; $9.99 HC

978-1416971481 / 978-1416971498

Core Audience: giggly children 2-6 and retro-loving adults

Strengths: Appealing square trim, poppy visual approach, silliness

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a chance to talk about books, partly because all of the industry upheaval this year has directed my attention to larger issues, and partly because I am in the middle of writing a book myself. So it was a real pleasure to tear open an envelope recently and have these two books tumble out.

Just the antidote to too much heavy thinking.

Meet Meno, the supercute space-elf hero of Tony & Angela Diterlizzi’s new series for the peepers. With his green beanie, irrepressible cowlick, and nifty sweater & tie set, Meno is the embodiment of My Three Sons meets Dennis the Menace with a pinch of Japanese-inspired Friends With You thrown in for good measure.

Tony and Angela have said they were inspired by lots of mid-century influences when creating these books. Things like “Little Golden Books, old Fisher-Price toys, and vintage cereal boxes” as well as funny words like pickle, weasel and spork. They must have had a lot of fun doing this project, and it shows. Populated with friends like Yamagoo, Wishi, and—my favorite—Zanzibar who lives in his HAPPY FUN BOWL, Meno’s world is full of interesting names to roll around on the tongue.

Presented in “Vibrant MENO-COLOR” the books’ clean layout, punchy full bleed art, and bouncy text add up to a high-style package that will be equally at home on a children’s bookshelf or a pop-culture lover’s coffee table.

Because of their strong aesthetic and minimal, playful text, it would be easy to dismiss these books as a design exercise, but that would be a big mistake. In our house we’ve tested these books on a range of ages from 2 to 8 (as well as 40) with great success. We’ve even adopted some “menoisms” into our daily routine. We sometimes drink “moo juice” and like Meno, we always want it to be “sunshine time” at our house.

This cheeky series may not appeal to all parents, especially those who are overly concerned with the occasional silly potty joke or creative play with language. Dick and Jane do not make an appearance in Meno’s world, but that’s part of the appeal. These books will entertain in direct proportion to an adult’s willingness to get goofy. They fall into the same category as tickle tag, making silly faces, and rolling around on the floor. Lots of fun, and a great opportunity to share some all-ages giggles.

Meno is BIG FUN for sure.

0 Comments on Adventure(s) of Meno as of 1/1/1900

Okay, so I’m at an author luncheon yesterday being hosted by the good folks at Houghton Mifflin.

Sitting around the table is a nice little grouping of who’s who in the Boston kid-books scene, including Roger Sutton of the Horn Book, Carol Stoltz from Porter Square Books, the wonderful Anita Silvey, poetess extraordinare Joyce Sidman, (if you have seen her latest book of apology poems, check it out), and the hard-working Alison Morris from Wellesley Booksmith and PW blogger fame.

Apropos of my essay below, the conversation turned to self-published children’s books and customer reviews on websites, and Alison brought the above to my attention. Props to her, because I think this is just about the funniest thing I have ever seen on Amazon.

Self-published authors, take note.

Published in 1990 via Vantage Press, a notorious vanity publisher, LATAWNYA, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say “NO” to Drugs is the story of a—well—a naughty horse named Latawnya. And her sisters Latoya and Daisy. And how they run into four other horses Connie, Crystal, Jackie and Angie who are all playing a “smoking game and a drinking game”. But wait, why paraphrase when you can read the whole book for yourself. Go ahead.

Here’s my favorite part:

Now putting aside the amazing writing for a minute, let’s just meditate on the image of one horse slapping the alcohol and drugs out of another horse’s HOOF. I swear I laughed so hard I cried.

And if the book itself makes you laugh, be sure to read the reviews on Amazon. Like this one:

Thank you Latawna!
I used to be an alcoholic, drug-addicted AND naughty horse.
But thanks to this inspired work ( thank you God ),
I am not a horse anymore.

So, who is this author? Perhaps she herself has had a bad brush with “smoking drugs”.

Lest you think I am making fun of the message here, I am not. It’s a very important message.

I have also occasionally thanked God, but not twice in the same bio.

This is the perfect example of how a great message can be completely overshadowed by a bad delivery. It’s like proposing marriage in a clown suit. In this particular case, we have a work that is so bad it’s genius, and like Snakes on a Plane, it’s poised for cult fame.

Maybe Sylvia should put it back in print, because she might make some money on it finally.

Listen up, people. It’s not the drug smoking horses you have to be afraid of, it’s having a story like this make you the butt of jokes on Amazon for years.

Save yourselves. Just say no.

***

Many thanks to Walker B over at The Something Awful Forums for first making this available to the wider public after he found it in the elementary school library where he works. This deserves to see the light of day, if only to serve as a warning to others.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

Penguin/Philomel; April 2007; 32 pp; $16.99 HC

978-0399247491

Core Audience: Children 4-8; Ravenous readers of all ages

Strengths: Awesome artwork, fun play on words

COMING SOON TO A BOOKSTORE NEAR YOU

I don’t know what it is about Irish humor that I love so much, but I can’t resist it when I come across it. Maybe it’s the storytelling tradition over there, but there is a wonderful drollness and a slight off-kilter quality to it that is distinctly zany, and it never fails to amuse me. This book is an excellent example.

It starts out innocently enough: it’s about a boy who loves books. Can’t get enough of them. He devours them, really.

Really.

He eats them up.

For the hero of Oliver Jeffers’ newest story, it starts out small. A distracted lick. Followed by a nibble. A page, or two. By Wednesday he had eaten a whole book. And come to find out, the best part is it makes him smarter. Pretty soon he’s smarter than his dad, and smarter than the teacher. He’s eating books left and right, and red ones are his favorite. He loves being smart. But like so many things that diminish when you over-indulge, our hero soon finds himself feeling a little ill. Then alot ill. Then he finds he can’t eat another book if he tries.

What will happen to our little book lover now?

Of course, this bibliographic parable has a happy ending when our hero finds that there’s more than one way to enjoy books. Kids will love the kookiness of the story from start to finish. Jeffers’ art style is full of funny details and punchy visual elements which will give young readers plenty to look at during multiple readings. I am particularly fond of the bite-shaped diecut in the back cover of the book, and the disclaimer that reads “Please do not try to eat this book at home.”

Jeffers has won critical acclaim in Europe, including a nomination for the Kate Greenaway Medal (the UK equivalent of the Caldecott) for his second book Lost and Found. With this third book, Jeffers has a nice body of work going, and I think he’s definitely an author to watch.

I’m looking forward to his next tasty treat, for sure. Yum, Yum.

Rated: 8.75

Bonus: Check out Jeffers’ lovely little website

Order this book from your local independent bookstore

17 Things i’m not allowed to do anymore by Jenny Offill & Nancy Carpenter

Random House/Schwartz & Wade; December 2006; 32 pp; $15.99 HC

978-0375835964

Core Audience: Children 5-8; Adults who remember being less-than-perfect

Strengths: Engaging art; Funny, funny, funny

This book is an ode to every sassy girl who has ever lived. (I am one of those sassy girls, and I bet many of you are as well.) It is a laugh-out-loud litany of one troublesome idea after another and the consequence is always the same… “I am not allowed to (insert idea here) anymore.”

From gluing her brother’s bunny slippers to the floor, to setting Joey Whipple’s shoes on fire with the sun and a magnifying glass, to a reoccurring obsession with beavers, to my favorite—giving her brother the “gift of cauliflower” [by flinging it off his forehead with a fork], the heroine of this picture book is irrepressible.

The artwork in the book is just as lively, with a wonderful combination of pen and ink illustration, collage, and mixed media. It spills across the page with great exuberance, and does an excellent job of working with the text to give you the full flavor of its spirited protagonist.

There are many books about behaving badly, but it is much rarer to find one that celebrates the individual with as much warmth and humor as this one.

Because of the weird 12/26/06 release date, I hope this book doesn’t fall through the cracks and get lost in the shuffle for awards and recognition.

It’s a gem.

Rated: 9.5

Order this book from your local independent bookstore