Baloney (Henry P.)

Ages 6-9. Tardy to school once too often, young Henry P. Baloney is facing permanent detention unless he comes up with a good excuse. He comes up with a doozy that starts with his having misplaced something called a "zimulis."Somehow this leads to his jumping into a "razzo"and blasting off to the planet "Astrosus,"where he has a close encounter of an extremely alien kind. Though it's obvious from the outset that green, bug-eyed Henry comes from another planet himself, every Earth kid will immediately recognize a soul mate in this extraterrestrial truth-stretcher and tall-tale teller. As for Henry's funny vocabulary, all of those odd locutions--from aamu to zimilus are real words that former teacher Scieszka has gleefully borrowed from such languages as Finnish, Italian, Latvian, and Latin. Definitions are offered on a concluding "Decoder"page. Meanwhile illustrator Smith has been having equal fun stretching the visual truth to create a vision of space that is not only artfully outer but also utterly outre. The result is wacky fun for everyone. And that's no baloney!

Copyright 2001 Booklist, LLC Used with permission.

Telling an exciting tale, a space alien sounds like Dr. Seuss ("I jammed the razzo controls with my zimulis"), but an afterword explains that his story, transmitted through space, was decoded and found to be "written in a combination of many different Earth languages." The words are defined at the back, but the meanings are clear from both context and illustrations in a book that will spark discussion about language.

Copyright 2001 Hornbook, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 1-5 - A small green alien would have been exactly on time for class, he explains to his teacher, except for the fact that he misplaced his zimulis (pencil)-and so begins a hoot of a tall tale "received and decoded" from deep space by Scieszka with "visual recreation" by Smith, his cohort in hip hilarity. This could be the story of any Earthling student with a vivid imagination who needs to come up with "one very good and very believable excuse." In short action-packed sentences, Henry describes an adventure involving a torakku (truck), razzo (rocket), funny piksas (pictures), and a narrowly avoided zerplatzen (you guessed it!) all over the speelplaats (playground). The trusty zimulis makes several appearances throughout the fast-moving narrative, culminating in a final (dis)appearance at story's end. The "outer space" vocabulary is culled from languages from Dutch to Welsh, with a few transpositions and spoonerisms tossed in. A handy word decoder is included. Smith's intricate illustrations/assemblages work perfectly with bold white-on-black text blocks. This title continues the slightly subversive bent of other Scieszka and Smith collaborations like Math Curse (1995) and Squids Will Be Squids (1998, both Viking) with its silly yet sly wit and clever styling. Wrapped in an eye-catching, high-tech silver cover, Baloney is sure to fly off the shelves and out the pordo (door) of your library.-Mary Ann Carcich, Mattituck-Laurel Public Library, Mattituck, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.