Late for School

by Mike Reiss, Michael Austin (Illustrator)

Overview

Follow the rollicking, surreal adventures of a young boy as he races to get to school on time.

Smitty is never late for school. Not when his shoes get stuck in a sea of thick, black tar. Not when the sky rains snowmen down on the city streets. Not when he uses his coat for a sail to catch a gale and is swallowed up by a whale. Or when he encounters a robot from Mars eating up cars...or a very, very hungry T. Rex!

With rhyming language and a vivid imagination, author Mike Reiss demonstrates that, for some children, getting to school on time can be an adventure. Illustrator Michael Austin's humorous, exaggerated images colorfully bring to life the mischievous fun of the text.

The surprise ending will delight young readers as they cheer on Smitty and his heroic efforts to beat the school bell.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561454914
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	07/07/2009
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Mike Reiss has garnered top awards as a television writer, producer, and showrunner, including four Emmys and a Peabody for his work on The Simpsons. A former president of the Harvard Lampoon and editor of The National Lampoon, he is also the author of several children's books. He lives in New York.

Michael Austin grew up in Florida and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi. A creative director, he has created art for many companies, including record labels and magazines, and has illustrated a dozen children's books. He lives in Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

"Featuring a catchy cadence, Reiss's rhyming tale and Austin's pleasingly exaggerated artwork introduce a fresh-faced narrator. . . The narrative gives way to kid-pleasing nonsense as absurd incidents conspire to threaten the student's perfect punctuality record. . . Austin's wild and wily airbrushed illustrations make use of electric hues and skewed perspectives; large scale views present the earnest, wide-eyed hero manifesting an array of entertaining facial expressions. A surprise ending-complete with graphic details-wraps up this satisfyingly silly caper."—Publishers Weekly

"With photorealistic precision, Austin depicts an exaggeratedly panicked young scholar from a variety of canted and slanted points of view as he runs, flies, sails, and flails his way down city streets. . . Children tardy and timely will laugh at this droll recitation."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Featuring a catchy cadence, Reiss's (How Murray Saved Christmas) rhyming tale and Austin's (The Horned Toad Prince) pleasingly exaggerated artwork introduce a fresh-faced narrator: "My name is Smitty. I come from the city And I live by one simple rule. I may not be smartest No athlete, no artist But I've never been late for school." The narrative gives way to kid-pleasing nonsense as absurd incidents conspire to threaten the student's perfect punctuality record. Snowmen wearing vintage aviator gear plummet from the sky; crossing a flooded Times Square in a makeshift boat, the boy is swallowed by a whale; he decides against boarding a bus on which "all of the riders Were poisonous spiders"; he then gets snagged by a "gigantic ape" climbing the Empire State Building. Austin's wild and wily airbrushed illustrations make use of electric hues and skewed perspectives; large scale views present the earnest, wide-eyed hero manifesting an array of entertaining facial expressions. A surprise ending complete with graphic details wraps up this satisfyingly silly caper. Ages 6-10. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 1-3-"My name is Smitty./I come from the city/And I live by one simple rule./I may not be smartest-/No athlete, no artist-/But I've never been late for school." On this particular day, however, the youngster faces a variety of obstacles as he races through New York City on his way to class. Reiss concocts a series of potentially hilarious hurdles-snow and floods, a ghoulish bus driver, a giant robot, a T. rex skeleton dripping with drool, and more. Unfortunately, Smitty's heroics are underwhelmed by the plodding rhymed text. With a few exceptions ("He gobbled up Hyundais/Like butterscotch sundaes"), the rhymes are facile. Austin's airbrushed acrylic illustrations are painted from off-kilter, cinematic angles, forcing readers to tilt their heads back and forth with each page turn. While imaginative and painstakingly detailed, the paintings' hyperrealism and Smitty's grotesque facial contortions come off as creepy and unappealing. The book's familiar theme, bizarre look, and predictable text might attract hi-lo readers, but it's a marginal purchase.-Eve Ortega, Cypress Library, CA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

In the fine tradition of John Burningham's John Patrick Norman McHennessy, The Boy Who Was Always Late (1988), a New York lad overcomes-or so he claims-all sorts of unusual obstacles to get to school, from a flood in Times Square to a Hyundai-eating robot from Mars. With photorealistic precision, Austin depicts an exaggeratedly panicked young scholar from a variety of canted and slanted points of view as he runs, flies, sails, and flails his way down city streets, and is last seen, soaked and shoeless, making his excuses to an understandably skeptical-looking teacher. Reiss lays out those excuses in breathless, if sometimes forced, verse-"I woke up at eight / In a terrible state / Sure that I'd missed my carpool"-that creates an appropriately rollicking beat. Children tardy and timely alike will laugh at this droll recitation. (Picture book. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews