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kelleemoye's review
3.0
I had a very hard time getting through this the first time. There were so many "made up" words that I know kids would get frustrated. At times there were so many that I think they'd have trouble inferring what they meant. Then I got to the end and saw there was a decoder- AH! Take two... then it wasn't as bad. I think this picture book would be good for older kids 6+ and would be great to use to practice context clues before looking at the decoder. Which, by the way, the "made up" words are words from all sorts of different language- so neat!
Reread November 22, 2012
Reread November 22, 2012
mrsbond's review
3.0
Henry P. Baloney concocts an excellent excuse for being late to school, again. He manages to work in words from a variety of earth languages (not to mention a transposition and a spoonerism). The interstellar artwork and creative storytelling are sure to grab the attention of Earthling children.
missprint_'s review
3.0
I don't think any of this duo's books will ever manage to surpass Math Curse in my estimations.
click2carney's review
5.0
Fun for preschooler and parents alike! I love the foreign words they sprinkle in, and my son loves the exciting larger-than-life pictures.
libkatem's review
5.0
So darn cute, I can't even handle it. :D It's a little alien boy who is late for school, and his teacher demands an explanation. Well you see....
watkins's review against another edition
3.0
There are several different aspects of this book. It begins with Henry P. Balony making up an excuse for why he was late to class. He spins an imaginative tale filled with seemingly nonsense words. The illustrations use many different images to create a picture of what might be going on in Henry's head as he tries create an excuse that will keep him out of "Permanent Lifelong Detention." Henry escaps PLD because the assignment for the day was to write a tall tale. This is a great book to use as a gateway to more traditional tall tales.
just_fighting_censorship's review
1.0
What a terrible idea.
If you are going to read this book aloud be prepared to stumble and stammer and stare into children's blank faces or furrowed brows of confusion. If you try the "lets guess what each word means" game they might get the first one, pencil, but the rest of the time the only answer to your questions will be crickets. Plot and storyline are suitable for a younger age but the language and concept is more for older children, therefore I don't find it suitable for any age.
Too many strange words, what is the point of including such random foreign EARTH languages? Since it's an alien it makes even less sense.
If you are going to read this book aloud be prepared to stumble and stammer and stare into children's blank faces or furrowed brows of confusion. If you try the "lets guess what each word means" game they might get the first one, pencil, but the rest of the time the only answer to your questions will be crickets. Plot and storyline are suitable for a younger age but the language and concept is more for older children, therefore I don't find it suitable for any age.
Too many strange words, what is the point of including such random foreign EARTH languages? Since it's an alien it makes even less sense.
psalmcat's review against another edition
5.0
Very very clever. I love almost everything Jon Scieszka does, so this should come as no surprise. Definitely recommended for little space-nuts and tall-tale-tellers.
nightowlreader's review
3.0
Interesting story! The idea is cool and pretty creative, but the creative aspect of the story also made the story a little unintelligible.
The definition of the words should be on each page as they are presented, or else you’d be reading through the entire book and still very confused the whole time.
The definition of the words should be on each page as they are presented, or else you’d be reading through the entire book and still very confused the whole time.