Mr. Lunch Takes a Plane Ride

by Vivian Walsh, J.otto Seibold (Illustrator)

Overview

Mr. Lunch is an earnest hard working dog. He loves going to his bird-chasing office everyday. He is surprised one day by a phone call inviting him to take a plane ride. Now after hearing from the birds for years how great it is to fly, he will finally be able to see what it looks like to be up above the trees. Or so he thinks....

Product Details

BN ID:	2940000971192
Publisher:	Walsh&Seibold
Publication date:	10/09/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	6 MB

Editorial Reviews

Mr. Lunch, a bird-chaser of some repute, is invited to demonstrate his skills on television--a thrilling prospect largely because it will involve his first plane ride. Being a dog, however, he must ride with the baggage, along with Ambrose, the bird he is to chase on the show. Looking around at the sea of suitcases, boxes and bags, Mr. Lunch decides ``things would be better if he investigated.'' He opens his fellow passengers' luggage, examines the contents and hastily repacks--creating some embarrassing but ultimately fruitful mix-ups that come to light on the show. Offbeat and utterly original, this debut by a husband-and-wife team has the frank silliness to appeal immediately to children and a campy sophistication that will tickle adults as well. The illustrations--computer-generated images that are flat in perspective but full of energy and surprisingly expressive--seem at once hip and modern and, in their diagrammatic shapes and muted khakis, rusts and charcoals, reminiscent of 1950s cartoons. Figures, objects, vehicles, labels and signs galore fill the fanciful, kinetical compositions, which are counterpointed by the absolutely straight-faced, straightforward text. The combination leads to an oxymoronic controlled zaniness, and it makes Mr. Lunch's journey a trip worth taking indeed. Ages 3-8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Mr. Lunch is a dog but not just any dog. He's an expert bird chaser, the Michael Jordan of bird chasers. Such distinction rarely goes unnoticed, so it's not long before a talk-show host comes calling--and not long after that before Mr. Lunch is planning the airplane ride he will take on his way to appear on television. Unfortunately, word of Mr. Lunch's celebrity status hasn't yet reached the airlines, relegating the soon-to-be TV star and his bird companion, Ambrose (the designated chasee), to the luggage compartment. Mr. Lunch was thinking window seat, but he makes the most of reduced circumstances, snooping in everyone's luggage, playing with what he finds (cellos, bunsen burners, chefs' hats), and then putting everything back in the wrong suitcases. Seibold's computer-generated art, though high-tech in origin, has a retro-hip, 1950s look that will appeal to all ages. The frenetic busyness of the drawings--and the manic Mr. Lunch himself--will remind readers of Maira Kalman's art and her own canine hero, Max, but Seibold and Walsh steer clear of Kalman's wacky surrealism. No, Mr. Lunch is just plain silly fun--sort of a David Letterman stupid pet trick come to life.

Bill Ott