Ooh-la-la (Max in Love) - Hardcover

Kalman, Maira

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670841633 ISBN 13: 9780670841639

Publisher: Viking Juvenile, 1991

Synopsis

As he experiences Paris, the city of love, Max the millionaire poet dog knows he is missing something.

About this title

About the Author

In her own words: "born. bucolic childhood. culture-stuffed adolescence. played piano. stopped. danced. stopped. wrote. discarded writing. drew. reinstated writing. married Tibor Kalman and collaborated at iconoclastic yet successful design studio. wrote and painted children's books. worried. took up Ping-Pong. relaxed. wrote and painted for many magazines.  cofounded the Rubber Band Society. amused. children: two. dog: one."

Reviews

Grade 1-4--Ooh-la-la, c'est formidable! Or maybe weird and wonderful would be a better way to describe Kalman's latest book about Max, the dog poet. Busy, surreal illustrations combine with a sophisticated, witty text to create a fast-moving, hip-hopping Parisian adventure of canine amour. Readers already hungry for more Max will be heartened by the happy ending in which Max and his darling dalmation, Crepes Suzette, take off for L. A. and new triumphs in Tinseltown. Kalman's creativity and inventive use of language show as much in the page design as in the story itself. While children will surely enjoy listening to the rhythms and rhymes of her poetic prose and may get a giggle out of the idea of a talking dog with a talent for creative writing, the book is most likely to appeal to adults with a taste for the offbeat. Even adult readers, however, will have to pay close attention to wring every bit of fun and meaning out of Kalman's sly wordplay and visual allusions. Consequently, while not necessarily a good story-time choice, the book will surely stand up to repeat read-alouds in small group or family settings. Brilliant, bold, funny and obscure, this is definitely one of Kalman's best efforts to date. Not every reader will be in tune with the jazzy style, but most large libraries will want this tour de force in their collections. -- Lisa Dennis, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ooh-la-la , c'est magnifique. Max Stravinsky, the poet dog hero of Max Makes a Million , realizes his dream of going to Paris in Kalman's latest high-spirited high jinks. In the City of Light he goes to museums and clubs, meets like-minded suffering artists and falls in love with Crepes Suzette, "that divine dalmatian." Visual and literary jokes abound--a Parisienne wears strategically placed bananas a la Josephine Baker; a hunchback crouches atop Notre Dame; a man's hat is marked "this is not a hat"--while lighthearted digressions offer amusing first lessons in art appreciation. The exuberant text imports French words and other vocabulary that rely heavily on context but convey a rousing musicality ("I am Fritz from the Ritz / which I quit in a snit / when the chef in a fit / threw escargot on my chapeau / and hit my head / with a stale French bread")--sophisticated fare indeed, but children and the uninitiated alike will find plenty of amusement nonetheless. Painstaking design integrates text and pictures, turns type upside-down or sideways, shrinks or expands type size--whimsical touches in perfect keeping with this fluid work. All ages.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Here, the gifted dog-poet (Max Makes a Million, 1990) journeys to Paris in the springtime, allowing his creator to sport with the visual ambiance of that lovely city and with bilingual wordplay. With a palette as subtle as the light on Montmartre and a notably free, sophisticated style, Kalman incorporates witty references to artists and their work in her own delightfully lively paintings. Much of this will be lost on the young, as will the full effect of her marvelously rich language; still, the slapstick and the sheer comedy and music of the words will carry some children along, especially if a talented reader shares the book aloud. P.S. At the end, Max takes his new love, Crˆpes Suzette, to Hollywood, suggesting a sequel. P.P.S. The creatively designed CIP is worth the price of the book. (Picture book. 5+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking Juvenile
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670841633
• ISBN 13: 9780670841639
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32