Odds 'n' Ends Alvy

Alvy, who likes to make strange new inventions, transforms his school desk into a motorized vehicle and goes for a wild ride

Kindergarten-Grade 2-A child's fantasy come true. Alvy, who is known for the strange inventions he makes from odds and ends, outdoes himself when he turns his school desk into a motorized vehicle. When recess comes, he races it down the corridor, drives out the door, and embarks on a wild ride through town. He soars into the air just in time to avert a collision with a train, gliding over treetops and tall buildings, until he finally steers back to school in time for class. Momentum builds as the desk careens through the streets, startling all who get in its path. A good choice for creative writing classes as well as a surefire read-aloud for primary graders, the story is peppered profusely with action verbs. Colorful, lopsided page layouts with cartoon illustrations interspersed with photographs form a collage design that carries out the frenzied pace.
Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Libd Public Library, CA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Inventive use of type and collages made from "odds 'n' ends" vivifies debut author Frank's quirky fantasy romp. Alvy, the quiet boy who sits in the back of the classroom, has a knack for inventing things out of the miscellany he keeps in his desk. When the recess bell rings one day, he puts a steering wheel on his desk and zooms out of the classroom, outside the school, up the street, past a group of tough-looking bikers, to his own front door, nearly into an approaching train, up into the air and back to school--all before class reconvenes. Imitating Alvy's movements, the type is set in various fonts, sizes and colors, and printed diagonally or in curves or in fitful zigzags. Karas ( Into This Night We Are Rising ) reflects Alvy's playfulness in his art, an exuberant mix of fanciful renderings in gouaches, pencils and acrylics; photos; and what he describes as "some of his endless supply of junk." An imaginative production, resulting in high-velocity high jinks. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Alvy has a reputation as transformer of salvaged objects; still, his classmates are astonished when his souped-up desk zooms away during recess. Thus begins a frantic getaway, including encounters with bikers and a strongman plus a stop at home to feed the dog. Karas combines photo images with zany cartoons; the desk leaves tread marks on a crayon and watercolor playground, then zips into a real cityscape. In one witty scene, Alvy's bulky crayoned figure contrasts with the photo of a businessman. But while the art startles and delights, the storyline bolts and jolts. Readers ready for Alvy's glorious creations get only one; for more excitement, they'll have to look to the varied typefaces in the imaginatively chaotic collage. But audacious print treatment doesn't make up for the story's triviality, while the hooliganism of its logic (the desk stops at Alvy's door but not for a speeding train) will make readers ready to abandon the rickety ride. (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.