Review
I've only recently been initiated into the wonderful world of Hilary Knight. I started with Knight's most famous work - his illustrations for Kay Thompson's Eloise stories. His illustrations in those are so delightful and really make the stories shine. Eloise could just be an insufferable brat if not for her being so darn cute!
Here we have another naughty 'child' in the form of an orangutan named Wallace. He lives in the zoo and dreams of experiencing life outside of the confines of the zoo. Luckily for Wallace (and us) he has a very trusting and indulgent keeper named Mr. Frumbee. So every other page we are treated to a panoramic two page spread of one of Wallace's adventures (department stores, apartment buildings, the beach, etc.) And, like Mr. Frumbee, we have to find Wallace amongst panoramas buzzing with hysterical activity. Sometimes Wallace is really quite hard to find, but any potential frustration is broken by all the other crazy antics going on.
It’s the prototype for the Where’s Waldo or I Spy series of books. I also think this book inspired the fabulous Adele and Simon by Barbara McClintock. And in fact it caught my eye because of the similarities between the two. I’d also say that Knight was an influence on Robin Preiss Glasser’s work. Fancy Nancy certainly owes a debt to Eloise, but also all the fabulous crowded city scenes in the You Can't Take a Balloon... series bear a notable resemblance to many of the scenes featured in this book . And for the grownups - a sly and humorous reference to the parent/child relationship runs throughout this story via Wallace and Mr. Frumbee. Very highly recommended as a fun, interactive, and enduring read aloud!
Here we have another naughty 'child' in the form of an orangutan named Wallace. He lives in the zoo and dreams of experiencing life outside of the confines of the zoo. Luckily for Wallace (and us) he has a very trusting and indulgent keeper named Mr. Frumbee. So every other page we are treated to a panoramic two page spread of one of Wallace's adventures (department stores, apartment buildings, the beach, etc.) And, like Mr. Frumbee, we have to find Wallace amongst panoramas buzzing with hysterical activity. Sometimes Wallace is really quite hard to find, but any potential frustration is broken by all the other crazy antics going on.
It’s the prototype for the Where’s Waldo or I Spy series of books. I also think this book inspired the fabulous Adele and Simon by Barbara McClintock. And in fact it caught my eye because of the similarities between the two. I’d also say that Knight was an influence on Robin Preiss Glasser’s work. Fancy Nancy certainly owes a debt to Eloise, but also all the fabulous crowded city scenes in the You Can't Take a Balloon... series bear a notable resemblance to many of the scenes featured in this book . And for the grownups - a sly and humorous reference to the parent/child relationship runs throughout this story via Wallace and Mr. Frumbee. Very highly recommended as a fun, interactive, and enduring read aloud!
0
