Because I Stubbed My Toe

January 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 1-A young boy stubs his toe and havoc ensues in this energetic picture book. The initial toe-stubbing "scared the dog.../who scared the cat.../who jumped out the window.../and landed on a girl..." and the list goes on and on. At times, the wording is a bit awkward, which may hinder reading aloud. However, the illustrations are extremely detailed and children will giggle wildly over this silly tale. The book explores no new ground, but youngsters will enjoy guessing what will happen next and will be pleased with the happy ending. A general purchase for most libraries.-Brooke Rasche, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2013
Byous explores the domino theory--and they all fall down--to comic effect. According to chaos theory, somewhere in the Amazon, a butterfly flaps its wings, which down the road apiece causes a tsunami to wash over Jakarta. Here, a boy gets out of bed and stubs his toe against the leg of a chair, which causes a girl to drop her ice cream cone, a bicyclist to drill his head into a wasps' nest, an old man to jump in a lake, a seesaw rider to be launched into space and a herd of elephants to stampede--which eventually resolves the ice cream tragedy. The action is continuous, the energy level is in the red zone, and the colors are strong (more pleasing than garish). The book works well as an early reader in that it has a humorous and linear storyline and few words, which are for the most part manageable, although Byous also throws in a few curveballs, such as teeter-totter, bouncy and knocked. Byous is also a master of the motion line--almost everything here is jittery or zipping or crashing--and all the little symbols that help readers feel part of the action, like the lightning bolts and stars that attend the mashing of a toe into a chair leg early in the morning. An eye-tickling, cacophonous vocabulary builder. (Picture book. 4-8)

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July 1, 2014
This cumulative tale starts with a boy's stubbed toe and quickly spins out of control until escaping elephants knock over an ice cream truck, which sends ice cream through a window in the boy's home. And there he sits enjoying a cone, as the story comes full circle. Accompanied by garish cartoony illustrations, the whole outrageous progression of events is more forced than entertaining.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)