It's Only Stanley by Jon Agee

It's Only Stanley by Jon Agee
Dial Books for Young Readers

Rating: 5 stars

I subscribe to a handful of book-filled, kidlit newsletters; many of them include a "books coming out soon" section. It's Only Stanley has been on many of those lists for many weeks. So when it popped up on the holds shelf in the library yesterday, I was curious if it was going to be as good as the hype surrounding it.

Yup, it is.

Jon Agee has this absurd, dry humor that manages to stick with his characters and translate to a picture book in such impressive ways... He makes the totally crazy seem totally normal. And even if you don't deconstruct the book like I did after reading it, you will chuckle at it and your child will likely laugh out loud at it, just like Kiefer did. Each time he had this read to him last night. Which was twice. In a row. That's always a good sign of a good book...

Here's the story:

The Wimbleton family sleeps, and one by one a strange sound wakes them up. Each time, the extraordinary family dog, Stanley, is making the noise. And Stanley is one nocturnal, productive pup. Judging by the father's shrugs and nonchalant reaction, the family is clearly used to such noisy awakenings.

First, Wilma is awoken by a strange tune...but it's just Stanley, howling at the moon. Daughter Wendy then hears one loud CLANK...but it's just Stanley, fixing the oil tank.

"It's only Stanley," Walter said.
"He cleared the bathtub drain."

This goes on all night long, and each sound wakes another member of the family, who travels into the parents' room and into their bed, until the bed is funnily overcrowded with more and more sleepy Wimbleton family members.

Finally, he wakes up the youngest member of the family with some serious vibrations and sounds. Turns out that Stanley managed to transform the entire house into a rocket, and now the house--with the whole family--still in pajamas--is landing on the moon.

Told in a great little rhyme that makes the book even more fun to read aloud (and also allows Kiefer and other kids to guess what Stanley is up to), this book is spot-on fantastic. Such a funny story with non-fussy sketches that pair nicely with bedtime--how can you not have sweet dreams when you chuckle yourself to sleep?

Little Santa by Jon Agee

Little Santa by Jon Agee

Rating: 3.5 stars

How did Santa become who he is today?

It's a great, fun question for authors to ponder and write about.  My favorite book that answers this question remains Santa From Cincinnati by Judi Barrett--maybe that book is too front-and-center in my mind to fully appreciate the humor in Little Santa...?

Little Santa is the youngest of seven kids whose family lives in the North Pole.  Everyone grumbles about their cold- and snow-filled days, except Santa: his red little suit and smile stand out amidst his family's gray outfits and mopey demeanors.  Little Santa has Big Santa habits: he likes to crawl up the chimney so he can slide down it, for example.

They dislike the North Pole so much that they decide to move.  To Florida.  Santa is the only one who is sad about the upcoming move.

But then a blizzard strikes, and their house is completely buried in snow--all you can see is the chimney. They can't go anywhere, including Florida.  Little Santa heads up the chimney and goes looking for help.

He finds a reindeer (no ordinary reindeer as it can fly) buried in snow, and a whole colony of elves who build him a sleigh and travel back to his house with him to rescue his family.  The family stays a little longer in the North Pole and finds it a nicer place to live with industrious friends like the elves, but...eventually they move to Florida.

But Little Santa stays behind.  And, well, you know the rest of the story.