A Perfect Mess

(Hardback)

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Description

This irresistible school story from Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Steve Breen is all about finding happiness in imperfections and being yourself . . . especially on class picture day! Henry McHenry is one messy rhino, but he tries his best to stay clean for a very important day. He jumps over a mud puddle (and splashes his friend), passes on a gooey jelly donut (just in time for a glob to land on his neighbor), and even manages to shake the ink from his leaky pen (all over his classmates). And while Henry is still neat and tidy at the end of the day, his classmates are anything but . . . This irresistible school story from Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Steve Breen is all about finding happiness in imperfections and being yourself . . . especially on class picture day!

Reviews

"This humorous tale with an antiperfectionist message will find an audience with preschool and kindergarten crowds." -- School Library Journal

"Breen surrounds the impish rhino with smudges, spots, and brightly colored chaos, onomatopoeic expressions of clumsiness rendered in messy display type...A spirited way to explore both causality and not-so-clean fun." -- Kirkus Reviews

This humorous tale with an antiperfectionist message will find an audience with preschool and kindergarten crowds. School Library Journal
"Breen surrounds the impish rhino with smudges, spots, and brightly colored chaos, onomatopoeic expressions of clumsiness rendered in messy display type...A spirited way to explore both causality and not-so-clean fun." Kirkus Reviews"
Praise for "Big Bad Baby"
"Cartoon artwork done in watercolors and colored pencil capture the havoc the giant baby causes, and the expansive spreads are filled with humorous details." "School Library Journal"
Praise for "Pug and Doug"
* "A heart-warming tale....Anyone interested in a great story of friendship will add this title to their reading list....A special read-aloud selection that offers opportunities for discussion." "Library Media Connection," starred review
"Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Breen uses a soft color palette; occasional panel sequences and visual gags; and affable, childlike characters to create a quirky, canine-populated world that will appeal to a wide audience, especially boys." "Booklist"
Praise for "Violet the Pilot"
"Breen makes good use of both comedy and perspective in action-packed pictures... This will make a great read-aloud; take it on a trip, and youngsters will happily follow along." "Booklist"
"An engaging story of a spunky girl who follows her dreams....Violet is a terrific role model." "School Library Journal"
Praise for "Stick"
"With a frenetic pace and loads of humor, the art perfectly conveys the frog's childlike exuberance and the story's lighthearted mood...A fun, filled-with-thrills romp." "School Library Journal "
"Breen generates plenty of fun and suspense in the skillfully rendered, animated pictures...will leave kids chortling." "Booklist""

Author Bio

Steve Breen is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist whose comic strip Grand Avenueregularly appears in more than 150 newspapers. He has also written and illustrated several popular picture books, including Pug & Doug, Violet the Pilot, and Stick.