Mr. Nogginbody Gets a Hammer

Starred review from July 1, 2019
Mr. Nogginbody is a jauntier and more surreal version of Humpty Dumpty: his bowler hat, collar, and tie are stacked together at the top of his ovoid body, above his marvelously expressive face. Thrilled to discover that a hammer can fix a nail that’s popped up from his floor, he starts seeing nails everywhere (some readers may recognize the classic law of the instrument at work), and it’s hammer time all the time for objects that even slightly resemble nails. Pulverizing a lamp’s turn knob, a showerhead, a flower, and all the pieces of a chess game in the park, he joyously declares “Done!” “Much better!” and “Fixed it!” (or “Flggst bit!” when the now-broken shower erupts on his face). Just when he’s ready to whack his own noggin—a wonderful moment of comic suspense—an epiphany arrives: “Maybe I can’t fix everything with a hammer. Because not everything is a nail!” Drawn and hand-lettered in rich black ink and punctuated by washes of bright color, Shannon’s latest has the timeless exuberance and psychological profundity of a great comedy. In short: nailed it. Ages 3–5. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

July 1, 2019
Mr. Nogginbody learns that no matter how nail-shaped a problem may appear, a hammer isn't always the solution. Starring in this absurdist adaptation of the adage about hammer and nails is daft Mr. Nogginbody. Proud of his initial success hammering a nail into his floor, Mr. Nogginbody decides to similarly remedy more problems, comically whacking naillike objects--showerheads, flowers, and (thankfully speedy) prairie dogs. After taking careful aim at a fly but hitting his own hat, he is struck with the epiphany that "not everything is a nail" and sweetly begins making amends, beginning with a new tool--a watering can to tend the flowers he crushed. Both the eponymous star of Shannon's earlier David books and Mr. Nogginbody are kindhearted despite their predilection for chaos, and they exude a certain manic energy through their eccentric looks. Mr. Nogginbody appears to be a giant, egg-shaped head but is proportioned as though he were typically human: A tie is his nose, his arms swing askew, and a hat sits jauntily, if jarringly, just where the lapels of his shirt meet. Shannon's signature breezy lines, keen sense of when to zoom in on a face or emphasize a zany moment, swaths of bright color among mostly black-and-white sketches, and casually uneven, hand-lettering keep it looking and feeling bright. A novel hero and a novel way to introduce a new generation to an old saying. (Picture book. 4-6)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 3-Mr. Nogginbody, who looks a lot like Humpty Dumpty with a suit and derby, loves to slide in his socks...until a protruding nail in the floorboards ruins his fun. He rushes to Dan's Hardware and gets himself a big, red hammer. On his first try, he knocks the loose nail right out of its hole; on the second, he slams his thumb. The third is a charm; encouraged, "Mr. Fix-It" rushes around the house looking for other nails to fix. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm results in a smashed picture frame, lamp, and shower head. "This nail is leaking! Flggst blt!" Then, Shannon takes it to the next level; Mr. Nogginbody mistakes a flower, prairie dog, sprinkler head, chess piece, and fly for a nail and really "fixes" them. Finally, there is an epiphany. "Whoa...Maybe I can't fix everything with a hammer. Because not everything is a nail!" Once again, the author of the wildly popular "No, David" books has hit the nail on the head. Readers will laugh at the silly antics of the clueless protagonist, who, just like "David," redeems himself in the end. VERDICT The humorous concept and brief text married to hilarious illustrations make this a great choice for storytime or one-on-one sharing.-Barbara Auerbach, Cairo Public Library, NY

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2019
Preschool-G After stubbing his toe on a protruding nail, Mr. Nogginbody gets a hammer and quickly fixes the problem. In fact, it's such fun that he goes on a quest to fix everything else with the hammer, cavalierly smashing anything remotely shaped like a nail, from flowers and water sprinklers to chess pieces and stop signs, with often hilarious results. Shannon combines his fabulous trademark angles and original points of view (elaborate close-ups, mesmerizing angles from atypical perspectives) with the irreverent, mischievous humor of his Caldecott Honor-winning David series, while introducing a quirky, anthropomorphized egg-shaped character with a charming bowler hat. Our black-and-white hero is supported and surrounded by bold splashes of color in a deliberately sloppy style that is equal parts familiar and eccentric. Children will delight in Mr. Nogginbody's well-meaning and ridiculous fix-it attempts that yield comical destruction, and readers who take their stories on the sweeter side will be pleased that it ends on a gentle note. Bonus points for the title font being cleverly constructed entirely out of curved nails.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)