Bad News, I'm in Charge! - Softcover

Bruce Ingman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1844284565 ISBN 13: 9781844284566

Publisher: Walker Childrens Paperbacks, 2004

Synopsis

One day, with the help of his metal detector, Danny discovers an ancient treasure-chest that gives him power to rule the land. He wastes no time making changes: pets in school, no dentists or hairdressers, and Mum and Dad in bed by eight o'clock.

About this title

About the Author:

Bruce Ingman has taught in several colleges of art and illustrated for such
magazines as BRITISH VOGUE. He has also written and illustrated three children’s books, one of which won a Mother Goose Award and a National Art Library Illustration Award. A recipient of a master’s degree from the Royal College of Art, Bruce Ingman grew up in Liverpool and now lives in London, England. This is his first book with Candlewick Press.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-A boy becomes "owner and ruler of this land" by a decree in a buried charter he finds with his metal detector. In Napoleonic uniform, he appoints a Special Ops Squad of his peers and compiles his list of changes to be made. They include "snacks all the time," "wear what you like," and "make your mom & dad wait outside in the car while you visit the toy store for hours & hours." However, the protagonist finds that being in charge is grueling work, with an agenda packed with kissing babies and judging beauty contests. He creates a Cabinet of adults (diverse ethnic groups but no women) to handle the tedium: Secretary of Shaking Hands, Secretary of Being Polite, etc. The quirky artwork is a fresh blend of various techniques: line drawings in ink, cut paper, and photographic inserts. Paintings give the impression of having been executed by a child just as the story reads like the product of a child's mind. Page layouts energetically defy conventional expectations in a wild salad of contradictory dimensions, aerial views, objects out of scale-the works! While the pages vibrate with wild colors, the text is simple. It roams all over the page, its font is mutating, but the words themselves are easy. Readers are therefore freed up to absorb what's happening in the illustrations. Bad News! is wacky and just right.
Liza Graybill, Worcester Public Library, MA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker Childrens Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1844284565
• ISBN 13: 9781844284566
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32