Raymie, Dickie, and the Bean: Why I Love and Hate My Brothers (Book and CD) - Hardcover

Ray Romano

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689864515 ISBN 13: 9780689864513

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2005

Synopsis

Everybody might love Raymond now, but when Ray Romano was ten years old, he and his brothers didn't always get along.

Raymie has two brothers, Dickie and the Bean. Sometimes he loves his brothers. Sometimes he hates them.

One day Raymie's family takes a trip to the amusement park. On the car ride Raymie tells a really funny joke that Dickie says isn't funny at all. Raymie really hates that. When they get to the park, Raymie and Dickie can't wait to ride the Vomitizer because it's the scariest ride in the whole park. But first Mom makes them ride on Chuckie the Choo-Choo with Bean. Having a younger brother can really mess up the fun.

Raymie knows that when you have brothers, things never go exactly how you expect them to, even when you give them noogie after noogie to drive the point home. But in this funny family tale we find out that Ray Romano loves his brothers -- and everybody loves Raymie!

About this title

Review

Tossing his hat in the ring of celebrity children's book authors, Ray Romano of the popular TV show Everybody Loves Raymond pens an affectionate tribute to his own boyhood with help from his two brothers Richard (Dickie) and Robert (the Bean). The good news is most everyone will still love Raymond after reading his children's book debut, a nostalgic vignette of sibling rivalry and revelry.

The story begins when the narrator (his family calls him Raymie) is 10 years old and the boys' parents are taking them to the amusement park: "Finally, after what seems like four hundred hours, they get in the car and we are on our way. Dickie is so excited that he gives me some noogies. I hate that, but he and Bean think it's hilarious." Kids with younger siblings will relate to having to ride on Chuckie the Choo-Choo before cool rides like the Vomitizer and thinking that the youngest is faking being asleep so he doesn't have to help unload the car. Because this is a book about three young boys, farting is inevitable (complete with green wafting gas), as are bathroom antics, good-natured insults, and rampant silliness. Gary Locke's skillful oil painting caricatures of the slightly (disturbingly) adult-headed boys are expressive, comical, and varied by interesting perspectives. If you can't get enough of Ray Romano, listen to the audio CD of the story included in the back of the book. (Ages 6-8) --Karin Snelson

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4–Romano recounts a mildly amusing story of a childhood visit to an amusement park. The middle child of three brothers in a loving family, 10-year-old Raymie is looking forward to his favorite ride, the Vomitizer, but first must endure Chuckie the Choo-Choo with his younger brother, Bean. Typical sibling interactions, usually insults and rivalry but occasionally a sympathetic moment, provide the substance of the tale. Instances of bawdy humor (wedgies, farting, etc.) appear throughout. Done in oil paints, the caricaturelike illustrations are dynamic and expressive. Although the subject is inherently appealing to children, the tone of the narrative, with its adult perspective and tongue-in-cheek humor, seems targeted more to adult fans of Romano's television show. Accompanied by an audio CD, read by the author.– Robin L. Gibson, formerly at Perry County District Library, New Lexington, OH
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Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0689864515
• ISBN 13: 9780689864513
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Gary Locke