Welcome to Bobville: City of Bobs - Hardcover

Winter, Jonah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593122720 ISBN 13: 9780593122723

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade, 2020

Synopsis

Here's a timely, hilarious picture book, with Seussian appeal! In Bobville, everyone is named...yup, Bob...and everything is exactly the same--until one Bob decides he'd like to be a Bruce.

Welcome to Bobville, home to people only named Bob! In Bobville, the Bobs eat the same food, wear the same clothes, watch the same movies, and have the same hobbies. They agree on everything-- ESPECIALLY that they don't like anyone who isn't named Bob. The Bobs go about their Bob ways, until one day, to the surprise of the entire city, one resident decides he wants to do things a little differently, and live as Bruce. In response, the Bobs build a wall to keep Bruce, and anyone else who dares to be different, out of the city. But Bruce doesn't mind-- it turns out the diverse world outside of Bobville is actually very beautiful. In this timely picture book, bestselling author Jonah Winter and acclaimed illustrator Bob Staake explore how exclusion and walls breed intolerance, and how being different and open-minded enriches our lives and the world.

About this title

About the Author

Jonah Winter is the award-winning author of more than forty nonfiction picture books that promote environmental awareness and social and racial justice. Among them are Here Comes the Garbage Barge!; Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality; My Name is James Madison Hemings; Barack; The Founding Fathers!; and Lillian’s Right to Vote, a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award recipient and Kirkus Prize finalist. Visit him at jonahwinter.com.

Bob Staake has authored and/or illustrated over 50 books, including The Book of Gold and Bluebird, which received three starred reviews; My Pet Book; The Donut Chef; and Look! a Book! The New York Times named Staake's The Red Lemon one of the ten best illustrated books of the year. Learn more at BobStaake.com.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 2—Ahhh, Bobville, the place where happiness is dependent on consistency. Here everyone looks the same, behaves the same, and even dreams the same dreams. And they like it that way. Then one of the Bobs of Bobville wakes up a little later than the other Bobs, changes his name and his manner of thought and dress and gets kicked out of town. No worries, Bruce (formerly Bob) has found his own people outside of Bobville, and lives happily ever after. Not so for the Bobs. They have built a wall to keep themselves safe from not-Bobs, though the appearance of safety doesn't guarantee happiness. There are lots of books lately about celebrating differences and condemning intolerance. This title is a carefree addition to the canon that is simply a celebration of how silly it would be for us all to be the same. Even Staake's gray- and black-striped Bobs have an individuality that makes their sameness plausible, and his characteristic digitized, airbrushed geometrics are as fresh as ever. VERDICT As in the land of Sneetches, Bobville is not so much a lesson in inclusion as it is a reminder to laugh at our foibles.—Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter Sch., Providence

Edition details

• Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593122720
• ISBN 13: 9780593122723
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Staake Bob
• Number of pages: 40