The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups: The Second File - Hardcover

Wisniewski, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688178545 ISBN 13: 9780688178543

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2001

Synopsis

Urgent!It's happened again!

David Wisniewski has completed another daring raid into the vault of parent rules. Within these forbidden pages lurk the real reasons why grown-ups want you to brush your teeth, eat your breakfast, and clean under your bed. The truth has been hidden for centuries, but the time of mystery is over.

Grab a flashlight! Get under cover! It's time for ...

The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups!
The Second File

About this title

About the Author

David Wisniewski passed away in his sleep, from an unknown illness, on September 11, 2002. Born in 1953, he had all-too-brief a life and leaves behind his lovely wife, Donna, and their two children, Ariana and Alexander. 

Just this week David had seen the finished books for Halloweenies, and he was so happy with how it turned out.  

He will, of course, be remembered as the 1997 Caldecott Medalist for his 6th book, The Golem. But perhaps even more, he'll be known for his off-beat postmodern humor, seen in Tough Cookie, The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups, and Halloweenies. Everyone who knew him loved his wit and his vibrancy; he was also quite an inspirational speaker. We will miss him.  

 

In His Own Words:

My mom taught me to draw in first grade. Nothing fancy. Just how to put circles and ovals together for form "bubble men." It was a wonderful introduction to drawing and a terrific gateway to action and proportion. But third grade, I was one of the class artists.

That's when I started reading comic books, especialy the Marvel superheroes created by Stan Lee. My sketchpads became full of The Fantastic Four, Spider-man, The Mighty Thor, and X-Men. Comic books were also my first introduction to dynamic storytelling. Nothing's more dramatic than colossal struggles between good and evil with entire galaxies at stake!

This enthusiasm led directly to Classic Comics, simplified versions of fantasy masterpieces like Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. It wasn't long before I became an avid reader, willing to tackle the work of Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, and A.E. van Vogt.

During high school I became interested in the performing arts as well as the visual When I couldn't afford more than one semester of college, I signed up for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. After training for two months, I clowned with Ringling for two seasons (1973-74), then performed with the country's largest tent show, Circus Vargas, in 1975.

After the circus, I was hired by my future wife, Donna, to perform with a puppet theatre. We married in 1976 and started our own company, Clarion Shadow Theatre, in 1980. Shadow puppetry was our specialty, wherein flat, jointed figures move against a screen illuminated with rear-projected scenery. Although I didn't know it at the time, shadow puppetry trained me to do picture books. Cutting out shadow puppets and projected scenery taught me how to use an X-Acto knife. The shadow screen was the same shape as an open book. Adapting legends and folktales into scripts taught me how to write.

When our chidren - Ariana and Alexander - were born, touring became impossible, so I adapted my cutting skills to illustration. After four years of freelancing for newspapers and magazines, I created my first picture book. The Warrior and the Wise Man (1989) looks very much like a shadow puppet play.

My cut-paper style matured with ensuing books. I learned to construct more detailed people and scenery, plus how to layer the artwork, creating the shadows that give depth to the pages. Happily, my books have been well received, culminating in the 1997 Caldecott Medal for Golem.

After six epic adventures, I wanted to try something comedic that would draw on my circus and puppet theatre experience. The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups was the result, a silly conspiracy spoof about the real reasons why parents tell kids to do things.

From the Back Cover

Urgent!It's happened again!

David Wisniewski has completed another daring raid into the vault of parent rules. Within these forbidden pages lurk the real reasons why grown-ups want you to brush your teeth, eat your breakfast, and clean under your bed. The truth has been hidden for centuries, but the time of mystery is over.

Grab a flashlight! Get under cover! It's time for ...

The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups!
The Second File

Reviews

Gr 2-5-The intrepid debunker of parental restraints returns in this sequel to The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups (Lothrop, 1998). Continuing his quest to unearth the truth behind such rules as "brush your teeth," "clean under your bed," and "don't swallow your gum," the author risks life and limb as he dons various disguises, eludes determined pursuers, and cracks intricate security systems. He reveals the true and truly far-fetched explanations (brushing reminds your teeth to stay put, cleaning under your bed prevents the growth of dust bunnies, and swallowing gum will inflate your stomach and you'll float away) in brief vignettes that draw from fractured history, convoluted science, and just plain absurdity. Meticulous cut-paper illustrations extend the silliness of the premise as molars riot, dust bunnies attack, and flatulent GIs prepare an invasion. While wordy for a picture book, lots of the text appears in boxed asides and picture captions. The humor sometimes tries too hard and exclamation points proliferate as the predominantly male cast delivers puns, jokes, and (sometimes gross) mayhem. Many of the jibes, while clever, will be best appreciated by adults and a total of eight "secrets" makes for a bulky and lengthy second file. Buy where the first is popular.

Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

David Wisniewski continues his conspiracy theory in The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups: The Second File, explaining to youngsters the "real reason" that grown-ups want them to eat a good breakfast (otherwise your stomach "throws a tantrum") and not watch TV late at night ("so the actors can take a break!"). Once again, Wisniewski's meticulous cut-paper illustrations underscore his comical words of caution.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3-6. As in his first tell-all Secret Knowledge volume (1998), Wisniewski spills the beans about the real reasons grown-ups want kids to do such dreary stuff as brushing teeth, washing feet, and eating a good breakfast. To blow the Nose of Truth into the tissues of adult lies (as the author puts it), the narrator courageously goes undercover in a series of zany disguises (as a sneaker, the Tooth Fairy, a feather duster, etc.) to discover the reality behind the facade. Clean under your bed to keep it tidy? Nonsense. The real reason is to stop the horrific growth of killer dust bunnies! Though the concept is occasionally a bit labored this time around, and some of the humor seems targeted more to adults than to kids, the cut-paper artwork remains eye popping and rib tickling, and at least some of the "secret knowledge" is inspired and laugh-out-loud funny. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0688178545
• ISBN 13: 9780688178543
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Wisniewski David