Late for School

August 9, 2010
Comedian Martin's (The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z!) album of banjo songs won a Grammy last year; "Late for School," one of the songs, is included here on a CD. In printed form, without Martin's inimitable delivery, the lyrics read a little raggedly ("Woke up this morning/ Clock said I was late for school/ Teacher told me that's not cool/ Gotta put my shirt and pants on"), but in Payne's (Turkey Bowl) hands, Martin's goofy verse achieves its comic impact on a cinematic scale. The boy's eyebrows shoot up and his lips purse with wild exaggeration as he jams his legs into his shorts; sporting a baseball jersey and a brush cut, he races downstairs, dashes across a neighbor's swimming pool, his feet and legs a blur as he logrolls a pool toy, then grabs a kite and lands on the football field with minutes to spare. (It's Saturday, of course.) Kids will relish Martin's subversive madness—especially the image of the boy elbowing his grandmother facedown into her pie as he rockets out of the house. Ages 4–8.

August 1, 2010

"Woke up this morning / Clock said I was late for school / Teacher told me that's not cool / Gotta put my shirt and pants on / Flew down the front stair / Wet my fingers and slicked my hair / Elbowed grandma passing by / Her face went into a pie." This little guy with great big ears doesn't want to disappoint Mom and Dad or end up in the grammar slammer, so he puts on some wild speed. He log rolls across a neighbor's pool and uses the diving board to grab a kite tail. He floats to the football field and makes a mad dash through the school building...you know where this is heading: It's Saturday! Rats! Thank goodness he gets home in time to go fishing with Dad. Martin turns one of the songs from his 2009 Grammy-winning bluegrass recording into what functions best as a read-along (or sing-along) with the enclosed CD; only he can make his wild word rhythms shine. Payne's painted illustrations are a good-enough match, but they are hardly as frenetic as the song. Definitely worth a place in your picture-book collection nevertheless. (Picture book. 4-8)

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