Things That Sometimes Happen

September 30, 2002
Dubbed "very short stories for little listeners," this selection culled from the author's 1970 debut book of the same name is paired with effervescent all-new art. Exuberant silliness buoys each of the nine brief tales, including a high-concept yarn about an underutilized and disgruntled black crayon who finally convinces a young artist to put him in the picture, and a romp that finds a boy and his cat swapping outrageous tall tales about their day ("I went out West, looking for tigers. If you don't believe me, look how dirty my hands are. It's dirty work, looking for tigers"). A generously sized format affords Priceman (Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin) plenty of room to coax maximum mileage out of all the fun. Expansive watercolors explode in a glorious burst of color and energy atop the ample white space, as brush strokes swoop and swirl and twine a series of droll spot illustrations around the text. An inspired pairing. Ages 3-7.

November 1, 2002
PreS-Gr 3-Culled from a longer collection of the same name (Doubleday, 1970; o.p.) and newly illustrated, these nine brief stories combine the whimsical magic of nursery rhymes with the familiarities of everyday life, fashioning a fanciful world that invites young imaginations to soar. The anything-can-happen tone is set in the title piece, in which a boy and his cat meet at lunchtime and compare their morning adventures, which include a visit to the North Pole, a tiger hunt, and an encounter with a bunch of fur-grooming monkeys. In "Small Between the Rain," a youngster shrinks himself down to a size that enables him to run between the raindrops, but he ends up falling into a puddle. In "Going to Work," a boy takes his sick father's place on the job. Told in simple language and packed with child appeal, these tantalizing tales are neatly tied together by Priceman's glorious gouache illustrations. Capricious and colorful, the artwork swirls around the text, providing lots of eye-catching action, intriguing visual surprises, and a needed sense of continuity. With their loose lines, flowing curves, and bright color combinations, the pictures have a childlike quality that matches the tone of wonder that infuses the stories. This is a great choice for sharing aloud, and for inspiring children to describe the things that sometimes happen to them and create their own tales.-Joy Fleishhacker, formerly at School Library Journal

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2002
PreS. Joyful new illustrations by Marjorie Priceman decorate this reissue of Avi's first published work. The original 30 extremely brief stories have been whittled down to 9 selections, which, with their random situations, read like the impromptu bedtime stories that inspired them. (Avi reportedly got his start by inventing stories for his children.) In the title story, a boy and his cat trade tall tales; in another, a black crayon envies the brighter colors that are used more often, until he's chosen to color a nighttime scene "a lovely dark." Children will be drawn into the stories' nonsense and humor by Priceman's exuberant gouache paintings. Best viewed up close, the pictures swirl around the words in small vignettes, bursting with activity and farce. A lovely new edition. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)