Seriously, Norman!

September 12, 2011
Picture book master Raschka tackles his first novel, a loopy story full of interesting ideas, which sometimes struggle under their weight. Norman Normann, 12, bombs his high school entrance exam, so his daft but concerned parents, Orman and Norma, hire him a tutor. Balthazar Birdsong’s eccentric methods include daily sky observation and A-to-Z reading of a dictionary whose entries (occasionally illustrated by Raschka) seem to foretell events in Norman’s life. Norman’s focus, however, is less on school than on his father’s possibly shady business dealings. This intrigue culminates in a Christmas week trip to Singapore that begins as a rescue mission but ends up an intervention of sorts. Brevity being the soul of wit, the linguistic punniness goes on a bit long, but Norman is a companionable protagonist whose affection for his clueless parents is charming. Time with Mr. B is also well spent—the book is a veritable benefaction for readers’ vocabularies. It’s also easy to love a tutor who declares his mission “is to get your heads and noses out of your textbooks and back into the clouds where they belong.” Ages 9–14.

September 15, 2011

A gently satirical and ultimately liberating look at modern education.

Norman Normann's well-meaning dad finds a tutor for him when Norman's scores on his first go at the high-school entrance exam are less than stellar. The tutor (the best his parents could find at the last minute), Balthazar Birdsong, has nearly Holmesian powers of deduction, along with a pedagogical philosophy of observation, imagination and finally action. His tutoring method informs the loose-seeming collection of activities that follow, among them kite-flying, sky-watching and, for Norman, an A-to-Z reading of the dictionary that becomes almost oracular. Birdsong's trust in his young students (he enfolds Norman's friends Leonard and twins Anna and Emma under the wings of his singular, slightly zany tutelage) includes his assumption that they will not be harmed by long walks, new ideas or perhaps (though he isn't present for the conversation) even by discussing their discovery of the word "shit" and its etymology in the dictionary. The year is so empowering that when Norman and his friends, his mother in tow, set out for Singapore to rescue Norman's cash-hungry used-bomber–salesman father from mysterious fur-hatted Alfurnian agents, the children are able to greet all challenges with equanimity. The author's diminutive, bold-lined drawings, inserted intermittently, by turns emphasize and elucidate the narrative.

Appealingly quirky and adventurous; a celebration of the power of self-directed learning and thinking outside the box.  (Fiction. 10-13)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 1, 2011

Gr 5-8-When 12-year-old Norman Normann "craps out" on a test, his successful businessman father says, "I want to see a turnaround in the fortunes of that hot little prospect I call my son." So Norman is sent to an eccentric but likable tutor named Balthazar Birdsong, who ends up entertaining and educating the boy and his three best friends. Before long, they learn that Norman's father sells bombers, not airplanes, and they set off on what becomes a worldwide mission to dissuade him from this risky business. This novel, the first for renowned picture-book artist Raschka, has a lot going for it, especially in its use of wordplay and the type of sarcasm middle-school kids enjoy. There are some great pieces of advice along the way, too ("If you want to avoid danger, don't get born"). Raschka's small black-and-white pictures throughout add bright and funny touches. The book isn't without a few flaws, though. For instance, some of the philosophical bits go on too long, a few of the more-madcap events take on a somewhat random quality, and often the voices of Norman and his friends sound alike. But overall, avid fans of offbeat humor will enjoy the story.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2011
Grades 5-8 After underperforming on the Amalgamated Academic Independent City Schools Test, 12-year-old Norman finds himself paired with a most unusual tutor: Balthazar Birdsong, a quirky Mary Poppins type whose mission is to get your heads and noses out of your textbooks and back into the clouds where they belong. His bizarre weekly assignments include kite flying, clothes observing, and, most notably, dictionary reading. This latter task provides a framework of sorts for the plot, as Norman slugs his way through all 26 letters, giving himself, and the book, a consistently impish vocabulary. (The phone doesn't ring; it bombilates.) The bad news is that Raschka's debut novel is liable to exhaust many of its readers: every character is a quip-slinging chatterbox, with mediocre jokes flying willy-nilly as the oddball plot advances at its leisure. Raschka's black-and-white illustrations, littered throughout, are more successful and do help ground elements of the often out-of-control story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)