Thursday, April 20, 2017

THE NONSENSE SHOW by Eric Carle / Book Review


By: Eric Carle
Published by: Penguin Random House
Released on: October 12, 2015
Ages: 3 & Up
Rating: 5 Owlets-We Loved It!
Purchase from: Publisher | Amazon B&NAdd it to Goodreads

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review

Ducks growing out of bananas? A mouse catching a cat? What’s wrong with this book from the creator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar?
 
Yes, there’s something strange, something funny and even downright preposterous on every page of this book. But it’s not a mistake – it’s nonsense! And it’s also surrealism. Nonsense lies at the heart of many beloved nursery rhymes. Children readily accept odd statements like “the cow jumped over the moon” and “the dish ran away with the spoon.” This fanciful bending of reality is also basic to surrealism.

In this book, nonsense and surrealism combine to spark creativity and imagination. What’s true? What’s impossible? What’s absolutely absurd? From Eric Carle, creator of the classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, comes a book to make children laugh and think, preparing them for a lifetime of loving both words and art.

Following on the heels of The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse (an homage to the artist Franz Marc and expressionism) and Friends, with its semi-abstract artwork, The Nonsense Show forms a trilogy of sorts, dedicated to introducing young readers to different styles of artwork without ever overlooking the need to, first and foremost, appeal to children and their love of play. One of the true legends and pioneers of picture book making continues to expand and challenge the genre.


This book is a little topsy-turvy but that is why we loved it! The nonsense and silliness of each page was fun and we kept laughing as the book went on. Although not a sequential story, the randomness of the pages is fitting for the overall "show" of the book.

We are huge fans of Eric Carle, and so we immediately loved the pictures. They are silly and imaginative and child-approved fun. Seeing Mr. Up eat his cake upside down is just as silly as seeing Mrs. Down eat her cake right side up. Younger audiences might not understand all of the puns, or play on words, but they will still enjoy the rhyming scheme and bright pictures. This is a perfect book to read as family when you just want to be a little silly or just have some random fun!
I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~