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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Jefferson Public Library | P AHLBERG, A. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | ADVENTURE AHLBERG | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Setting out to pick up some things from the store entails more than a brave family bargains for in this funny flight of fancy from Allan Ahlberg and André Amstutz.
On the day Mom goes shopping with her young daughter, baby Harry, and Wilf the Wonderdog, she starts by making her usual grocery list. But with Allan Ahlberg at the helm, what begins as a mundane shopping trip can quickly become just a little unusual. With the help of whimsically detailed illustrations by André Amstutz, this persistent family treks through a blizzard and under the desert sun, into a jungle of tropical beasts, and even across the sea. But what will they find at the end of their journey?
Author Notes
Allan Ahlberg was born in 1938 in South London, and grew up in the Black Country. He worked as a teacher, postman, grave digger, soldier and plumber's mate before he became a full-time writer.
He met his wife and creative partner, Janet at teacher training college. It was because Janet wanted to illustrate a book that Allan wrote his first book, the Brick Street boys. After that, together they wrote 37 books.
Janet died in 1994 and Ahlberg discontinued his writing career for a few years before picking it up again.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-What begins as an ordinary outing turns into an extraordinary adventure. Accompanied by her mother, baby brother, and Wilf the Wonderdog, a child sets out for the store with a mundane shopping list. The first obstacles are rather ordinary: "-the car broke down, but we kept going./The rain came down, but we kept going." As the journey progresses, both the events and the solutions become more unusual as the family encounters snow, passes through a thick jungle full of dangerous creatures, and finally crosses the sea to reach their destination. Amstutz's richly colored illustrations have a painterly look, often with visible brush strokes, that really suits the imaginative subject matter. The repetitive phrase keeps the pace of the story going and works well for reading aloud. A great addition for sharing in storytime or one-on-one.-Robin L. Gibson, formerly at Perry County District Library, New Lexington, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
What if a routine trip to the store turned into a peril-fraught adventure?a supreme test of endurance, ingenuity, and courage? Now, that would be something to tell Dad. At first, the shopping party?which consists of the girl narrator, her baby brother, her mother and a hound named ?Wilf the Wonderdog? (Dad remains at home doing chores)?confront merely bothersome setbacks. ?The car broke down, but we kept going. The rain came down, but we kept going.? But a turn of the page plunges readers into a wild and woolly alternative universe, where the weather is extreme (there?s a blizzard, much to the delight of Wilf, who taps into his inner St. Bernard), the terrain shifts from alpine to desert to jungle in blinks of the eye, and other threats include ?cheeky monkeys.? Ahlberg gives his text the authentic ring of a young storyteller determined to keep an audience in her thrall; the girl can?t resist loading up her story with incredible events, but she also senses that gilding the lily will stretch even parental credulity. Amstutz?s mural-like full-bleed acrylics explode in a colorful, comic hodgepodge of geographic archetypes and heroic deeds?it?s a view of the world that a precocious child would knit together from storybooks, cartoons and educational television, and will likely thrill youngsters. Ages 3-6. (June) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Horn Book Review
(Preschool) From Amstutz's pictorial precis on the jacket to his full-blown expansion of Ahlberg's minimal story, the acrylic illustrations hold center stage here with their lush swatches of color, energetically manipulated perspectives, and clever details. Leaving Dad to paint the kitchen, Mom sets out with a short marketing list, accompanied by baby Harry, the family dog, and the young narrator, whose realistic account (""the car broke down, but we kept going"") segues quickly into fantasy (""the wind blew up a blizzard, and Wilf the Wonderdog pulled us along""). European settings for the mildly adventurous events soon give way to desert, then jungle (""Mom saved us from the snakes...I saved us from the cheeky monkeys""); finally, the pram, having survived all obstacles, becomes a boat to the family's original destination, a seaside shop -- ""and it was still open."" Though familiar formulas abound, they're well integrated, while the art's style and verve make this more than just another imaginary tour. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Leaving dad to paint the kitchen, a child trails her mom, little Harry and Wilf the Wonderdog out to the grocery store in this enticing invitation to take the long way 'round. Not even their car's breakdown stops these determined shoppers: On they forge, battling heavy rain and snow, trekking up a steep mountain, through thick jungle--"Mom saved us from the snakes. Wilf saved us from the crocodiles. I saved us from the cheeky monkeys"--and desert, down a river and all the way across the sea. Using a bright palette and energetic brushstrokes, Amstutz portrays the expedition, stroller and all, blithely coping with one challenge after another as they traverse a succession of land- and seascapes before washing up at last on a coastal store that, happily, stays open after dark. And the trip home is accomplished with the turn of a final page--a perfect ending for a child's transformation of a common errand into a decidedly uncommon outing. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 1. A simple shopping expedition becomes a wild adventure, at least in the version told by a little girl who accompanies her mother, baby brother, and dog to the grocery store. The car breaks down, the rain gives way to blizzard, and a pleasant country road takes an unexpected turn through a jungle before becoming a river, then a sea. The story doesn't bear a literal reading, but children who are willing to go with the flow may enjoy its fanciful twists and turns. Amstutz's colorful acrylic paintings depict the increasingly exotic settings with panache, and children will find plenty to talk about as they study the pictorial details. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2005 Booklist