Baloney (Henry P.)

Scieszka, Jon

ISBN 10: 0756954940 ISBN 13: 9780756954949

Publisher: Turtleback Books, 2005

Synopsis

The twisted team that gave the world Squids Will Be Squids and The Stinky Cheese Man now delivers a whole lot of Baloney. Henry P. Baloney. Henry is an alien schoolkid who needs to come up with one very good excuse to explain why he is late for szkola, again. Otherwise, his teacher Miss Bugscuffle promises, it's Permanent Lifelong Detention. Henry's tall tale of his lost zimulis-received from deep space by Jon Scieszka-is told in at least twenty different Earth languages and graphically recreated in Lane Smith's out-of-this-world illustrations. The unbelievable trip into Henry's wild universe may be the most original excuse ever for being late for szkola. Or it might just be Baloney. Henry P. Baloney.

About this title

Review:

To say that Baloney is extraordinarily different would be a gross understatement. To begin with, Baloney wasn't written: it was received and decoded by John Scieszka and cisual recreation was undertaken by Lane Smith.

Henry P Baloney, the Alien, is late for school and when asked by his teacher, Miss Bugscuffle, for an explanation, he proceeds to give an account which includes losing his "Zimulis", an encounter with a "Razzo" and saving himself from a "Zerplatzen", all over the "Speelplaat". However, Miss Bugscuffle is not convinced, and sets Henry to write a tall story! The text, mainly in capital letters, needs a decoder in places, found on the last page. Decode the signals and discover words from different earth languages, including Latvian, Swahili, Finnish, Esperanto and Inuktitut, among others. This excellent book will certainly fire the imaginations of children aged seven and older, and probably older people experiencing their second childhood too! --Susan Naylor

About the Author:

Jon Scieszka began to train as a doctor but left to take a course in fiction writing at Columbia University and to become a teacher. He lives in Brooklyn and spends his time writing and talking about books.
Lane Smith, an acclaimed author/illustrator, has achieved major success in his collaborations with Jon Scieszka. He also provided the original concept and illustrations for the hit film JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. Lane lives in New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: Turtleback Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0756954940
• ISBN 13: 9780756954949
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Smith Lane