Review by Booklist Review
The young boy from I Didn't Do My Homework Because . . . (2014) is back with an outlandish saga of why he is late for school. First he observed giant ants stealing his breakfast. Arriving at the bus stop, 10 evil ninjas blocked his way. His attempts to get to school on time were further hampered by majorettes and gorillas and elephants. Undaunted, the boy and his faithful dachshund extricated themselves from almost unbelievable situations. By using his brains, talents, and a handy tool, he eventually arrived at school only to discover he forgot his backpack and returned home for it. Finally in his classroom, he is questioned by his teacher, who is skeptical of her student's hair-raising adventure. The clues found in the final spread will have children giggling and wondering what actually happened. Readers are introduced to descriptive vocabulary words such as vanquishing, massive, seized, and colossal, adding to the high-energy tale. The small book's busy, detailed pen-and-ink illustrations, predominantly in shades of green and orange, are fun to examine. Imaginative high jinks, highly entertaining.--Owen, Maryann Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The scruffy-suited, shaggy-haired boy from I Didn't Do My Homework Because... is back, and he has more excuses ready for his teacher, this time regarding why he's late for school. His circuitous, belief-defying story involves being attacked by ninjas (their wild gestures make them resemble Matisse dancers), being abducted by mole people, wandering in and out of a few fairy tales, and tooling around in the president's private jet. His remarkably patient teacher takes this all in stride, but Cali and Chaud give the boy (and readers) the last laugh, proving the adage that truth can be stranger than fiction. Ages 6-9. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-The young hero of I Did Not Do My Homework Because.(Chronicle, 2014) is back, this time with inventive reasons why he was late for school. The fantastical tale has it all-giant ants that steal his breakfast, a ninja attack, an encounter with Yeti and Bigfoot, invading aliens, and many other unlikely escapades. A clever twist at the end involving a time machine and dinosaurs imparts unexpected credibility to the boy's story. The plot might be somewhat tenuous and the series of events seemingly random, but nonetheless are true to how a child's runaway imagination might work. Chaud's signature cartoon illustrations delight with eccentric and humorous details on every page, the expressions of the protagonist's canine companion especially silly and fun to follow. VERDICT Best suited for a personal perusal or one-on-one sharing due to its small format, this book will appeal to fans of Cali and Chaud's previous work as well as those who appreciate a whimsical romp.-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The author-illustrator team behind I Didn't Do My Homework Because... brings us another litany-of-excuses picture book, here a drawn-out explanation of why a child is late to school. There's humor in the nonsensical string of diversions, but there's not much transition from one to the next. Chaud's fine-lined cartoons contain lots of surreal, clever details (including a final twist behind the teacher's back). (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In the grand tradition of John Burningham's John Patrick Norman McHennessy, the Boy Who Was Always Late (1987), a tardy lad spins exciting if unlikely excuses to a skeptical teacher.Considering that giant ants ate his breakfast, and then, among other distractions, he was assaulted or kidnapped on the way by ninjas, mole people, elephants and "a sea of scary majorettes," had to help sort out a milling mass of sheep and ducks, almost forgot his backpack and accidently rode his uncle's time machine back to the age of dinosaurs, it's not so surprising that he's a bit late. In manic cartoon illustrations, Chaud propels the disheveled but determined student through a series of hilariously surreal situationsfetching him up at last in school, looking shocked that his teacher (who hasn't caught sight of the dinosaur leaning in at the window) doesn't believe him. Wouldn't you? She may have cause, though, as he had already spun a similar skein of yarns in the preceding I Didn't Do My Homework Because (2014). A well-traveled premise, but like all of its ilk, a fertile source of inspiration for similarly dilatory students. (Picture book. 6-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
