Truth About Cousin Ernie's Head, The - Hardcover

Mcelligott, Matthew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689801793 ISBN 13: 9780689801792

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1996

Synopsis

Provides an amusing look at a lively family gathering as they yelp and bicker about the various facts of the stories they tell, that is until Grandma pulls out a home movie and settles the dispute over what landed on Cousin Ernie's head once and for all.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Traditionally, holidays are a time for loved ones to get together... and argue. In this quirky tale, McElligott's first, a boy rolls his eyes at his relatives' Thanksgiving Day disagreement about who stole his father's hat so many years ago, and whether it was an airplane or a buzzard that fell on Cousin Ernie's head. Tired of the shouting, the boy investigates his grandmother's attic and discovers an old home movie. There, in black-and-white, are the solutions to all of the family mysteries: "The unicycle bandit stole my dad's hat [and it] was Mrs. Halusa and her casserole that landed on Cousin Ernie's head." As a cartoonist, McElligott needs a bit of polish. His grimacing characters have thick features, his colored-pencil shading is uneven and his watercolors, from flesh tones to garish aqua and orange, are densely applied. Yet he takes an inventive approach to his illustrations. He supplements the full-color caricatures with duotone digital prints of the "movie," showing real people in silly situations. The tale itself, though, with its "aren't adults silly?" subject matter, may not have enough staying power to hold kids' interest. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

The sole child in this story is the unnamed narrator who dreads Thanksgiving with his combative relatives. Uncle Klaus flies in from Bangladesh (in a balloon); Aunt Helen and Uncle Max ride a bicycle ``down from Alaska.'' They bicker and argue over details of old family stories such as whether an airplane, a buzzard, or ``Mrs. Halusa and her casserole'' once fell on Cousin Ernie's head. When the narrator finds a home movie full of evidence that settles all the arguments, the holiday takes a sad turn, ending abruptly. The next year, the boy and his grandmother dislike the continuing silence enough to pretend to lose the film, launching the controversies anew. McElligott's first book shows his taste for the wacky and the absurd, which children have been known to like, but winds it through a silly story about adults. The mixed media artwork, too, shows promise; the kitchen-sink inclusion of visual asides demonstrates the artist's energy and enthusiasm, but doesn't add up to a funny whole. (Picture book. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0689801793
• ISBN 13: 9780689801792
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Mcelligott Matthew