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Summary
Summary
Ernest is good boy. He does what his mother asks, helps her with household chores.and never has any fun. When a new boy moves in next door, Ernest's mother encourages her son to make friends. Nice children always do. But the new neighbors seem a little bit...strange. In fact, you might call them downright monstrous. And listening to his new friend Vlapid's mother means Ernest must do things he'd never dare try at home. And it's fantastic! Florence Parry Heide and Kyle M. Stone combine forces to show the little-known joys of doing as you're told.
Author Notes
Florence Parry Heide was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on February 27, 1919. She studied at Wilson College before transferring to the University of California at Los Angeles, where she received a B.A. in English. She worked in advertising and public relations in New York City before returning to Pittsburgh during World War II. She moved to Wisconsin with her husband after the war and started writing books at the age of 48. She wrote or co-wrote over 100 children's books including the Treehorn series, Princess Hyacinth: The Surprising Tale of a Girl who Floated, and The One and Only Marigold. She also wrote under the pseudonyms Alex B. Allen and Jamie McDonald.
Heide received numerous awards and honors including having The Shrinking of Treehorn named by the New York Times as the Best Illustrated Children's Book of 1971 and winning the Jugendbuchpreis for the Best Children's Book of Germany in 1977; The Day of Ahmed's Secret received the Editors' Choice Award from Booklist in 1991, and Sami and the Time of the Troubles received the Editors' Choice Award from Booklist in 1992. She died on October 24, 2011 at the age of 92.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Ernest, the milquetoast protagonist of this quirky tale, is a perfectly obedient son. He cleans, follows the rules, and never has fun-until new neighbors move in next door. Curiously reminiscent of the Munsters, Vlapid and his mother have a different idea of the work it takes to make a house a home. Zany antics like swinging from the chandelier in a red cape made from the drapes ensue, cementing the boys' friendship. Stone's mixed-media illustrations are slightly creepy, especially the characters' faces. However, children will love the details and Vlapid and Ernest's wild antics, which are depicted through a combination of well-placed text and jaunty lines. The juxtaposition of orderly equals boring and chaos equals amusement might irk some adults, but children will delight in a house in which there are no rules. Pair this joyful read-aloud with David Shannon's No, David! (Scholastic, 1998) for a laughter-filled, visual feast of children behaving badly.-Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
With a receding hairline, bowtie, and suspenders, young Ernest looks like he's well on his way to becoming a middle-aged momma's boy. "Ernest always listened to his mother. Nice little children always listen to their mothers," deadpans the narrator, setting up the kid-pleasing mayhem to come. When Ernest goes to meet the new family next door (because mothers "want their children to meet nice children who will be a good influence"), he meets Vlapid, who resembles a miniature bat-eared Frankenstein, and his vampirish mother. She, too, demands obedience, which involves scribbling on the walls and swinging from the chandeliers. Heide and Pierce's (Tio Armando) slyly restrained tone is an effective straight man to Stone's (I Love My Pirate Papa) embellished mixed-media illustrations. His offbeat characters evoke those of David Shannon, but Stone surprises and further engages his audience with a palette of rich, varied textures. A closeup image of lace serves as a tablecloth, while a green field appears to be a wash of green paint over a floral Victorian wallpaper in reds and yellows-an interesting juxtaposition, not unlike the two new friends. Ages 3-7. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Readers will be tickled by the premise: Ernest, an obedient little thing, "always listened to his mother." When new neighbors arrive, Ernest is excited to make a friend--a monster-kid named Vlapid whose bad behavior is encouraged by his Morticia Addams-esque mom. Stone's faux-Victorian illustrations, all swirling fog and dark-clad characters, are mostly humorous and just a teensy bit eerie. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
(Picture book. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Errrrrrrrrrrrrnest? comes the cry from the creepy house on the hill. Yes, mother? comes the reply. It's a setup straight out of Psycho, and though things don't go the way of stabbings and showers, Heide and Pierce's tale is full of foreboding. Ernest is a little boy who, as drawn by Stone, resembles a middle-aged man squashed down to midget proportions. He is odd in his behavior, too: he scrubs and cleans and does whatever his mother says: Ernest never: spilled, whined, dawdled, talked back, got his own way . . . or had a good time. Then he bikes over to meet the new neighbors (whose house looks even more like the Psycho house), and The Addams Family look-alikes within ask Ernest for help fixing up their place, too though their perception of a perfect house is a tad different than what Ernest is used to. The story stops right when it seems to be starting, but that doesn't take away from the creepily formal text and the positively Gaiman-esque dementia of Stone's art.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist