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64th out of 69 books
—
19 voters
Pssst!
by
Adam Rex (Goodreads Author)
A child, a visit to the zoo, animals--sounds like good, simple all-American fun. But there’s something different about this zoo. These animals want things. Unusual things. What will they do with them?
Laughs, jokes, and surprises abound in this graphic picture book about a feisty, all-too-helpful little girl and her role in aiding and abetting zoo-animal shenanigans. Adam R...more
Laughs, jokes, and surprises abound in this graphic picture book about a feisty, all-too-helpful little girl and her role in aiding and abetting zoo-animal shenanigans. Adam R...more
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
September 1st 2007
by Harcourt Children's Books
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May 14, 2010
Abigail
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Adam Rex Fans
Recommended to Abigail by:
Kathryn & Chandra
Shelves:
picture-books
Review Temporarily Removed.
view all 7 comments
This is the best kid's book I've seen in a loooong time. A little girl has to help a bunch of animals at a zoo with random tasks, which sounds totally lame and sanitized, but that's sort of the point. Her exchanges with the animals get weirder and weirder as they go along, and the climax of the story made my girlfriend's eyes bug out of her head and she talked about it for the next half hour.
The main animals are painted beautifully, and the rest of the zoo is sketched out with random sight gags...more
The main animals are painted beautifully, and the rest of the zoo is sketched out with random sight gags...more
One day a young girl goes to the zoo and has a series of strange conversations with the animals. Each of them asks the girl to bring them something, some tires, paint, trash cans, flashlights, bicycle helmets, corn. It’s an odd list of items, but they give the girl money (coins picked from the fountains) so she dutifully buys everything at the superstore across the street. You’ll have to read the book to find out what the animals do with their treasures. Let’s just say it’s probably not your fir...more
A young girl's trip to the zoo takes an interesting turn as each of the animals calls her over with a "Psst!" to get her to come over so they can ask her to bring some special item that will make the animal's life better.
The fonts and graphics after the first two animals might help younger readers to make some predictions about who is calling next. If I were to share this book in the classroom, I would probably use a document camera to display the zoo map found in the front and back of the book....more
The fonts and graphics after the first two animals might help younger readers to make some predictions about who is calling next. If I were to share this book in the classroom, I would probably use a document camera to display the zoo map found in the front and back of the book....more
Boys like noise. It's a generalization, but when I hear loud tractor noises, block banging and Hot Wheels traffic jams coming from the kindergarten, it's more often Billy than Sally who is conducting the orchestral din. Walk by a construction site and survey who has stopped to watch the cranes and jackhammers disturbing the peaceful horn-honking urban landscape. Guys, I'll bet. (I wonder if anyone has studied horn honking. Wouldn't be surprised if there is a clear gender gap.)
So think of the wor...more
So think of the wor...more
This is probably one of the best Kids' books I've read in a long time. It is intricate and simple, filled with little funny easter eggs.
A little girl goes to the zoo and all of the animals become rather demanding as they ask her for items.
(view spoiler)...more
What happens when a bunch of animals have been cooped up for too long?
Pssst!You're about to find out.
A little girl goes to the zoo and all of the animals become rather demanding as they ask her for items.
(view spoiler)...more
Sep 29, 2009
Kathryn
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Kathryn by:
Chandra
Shelves:
childrens-picture-books
3.5 STARS. This is a fun, imaginative story about a child (girl? I know there has been debate on the somewhat androgynous artwork; I do think it's a girl, notice the barrettes (?) in the hair???) who visits a very unusual zoo. Or, perhaps, she is the unusual one? In any case, she soon discovers that the animals can communicate with her, and they ask her to collect all sorts of odd items for seemingly individual purposes--or could there be a more communal effort in the works??? The illustrations...more
A little girl goes to the zoo one day and is called over to each of the animal enclosures (by their inhabitants) and asked to acquire certain things. The gorilla wants some new tires (his tire swing is broken), the bats want some flashlights (for their friend the hippopotamus, who doesn’t like the dark), etc. etc. Everyone has a (mostly) reasonable explanation for the thing(s) they want. The baboon hands over a sack of coins (collected by the peacock from the zoo’s fountain) to pay for it all, a...more
I think for me, Adam Rex is like Michel Gondry - one of those people with really unique ideas who I hope always get to do their own thing - and whether or not each project is entirely perfect, whatever he makes, you know it's going to be interesting, beautiful and like nothing else out there.
PSST…would you love to know what things zoo animals secretly want or need? Well this is the book for you. This graphic picture book will take children ages 4-9 on a surprising adventure to find out what happens when a bunch of animals have been cooped up for too long. Adam Rex’s story is funny yet unusual as readers discover the hidden desires of animals and the little girl who is conned into helping retrieve the animals requests for silly things.
This would be a great book to use with younger r...more
This would be a great book to use with younger r...more
I decided to pick up a few Adam Rex illustrated books after reading "Chu's Day", which he illustrated with Neil Gaiman writing the book, and loving the illustrations. Most of his books are for a slightly older child than my son, but I had fun reading it to him nonetheless. Most of the reason I enjoyed this book were the quirky illustrations (a lot of play on words such as "Camel-lot", but also a batman next to the Bat Cave and a Narwhale snowglobe), though I thought the story was only okay. The...more
Will be as important to read the pictures as it was to read the text. All kinds of humorous gems are hiding in the illustrations that will bring a smile or giggle to the reader; huge hamster balls so zoo animals can roam the zoo, an aged batman mascot greeting those who enter the bat cave, etc.
The girl is enlisted by various zoo animals to bring something back that will help alleviate their boredom. What they do with the items turns out to be a surprise.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Peeked at the re...more
The girl is enlisted by various zoo animals to bring something back that will help alleviate their boredom. What they do with the items turns out to be a surprise.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Peeked at the re...more
This is one of those weird picture books where the story and illustrations are really great, but the action's very detailed and subtle, which makes for a horrible read-aloud. It's also not really a great "lap-read" book, either, in my opinion, because there's no narrative; it's all told in a smattering of speech bubbles. This book is really made for the 3rd or 4th grader who really gets and enjoys subtle humor but would still feel cool picking up a picture book...I don't know. I really like Rex...more
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Using a mix of colored pencils and paint (can't tell the type, only that the style is awesome), Rex tells the story of a little girl off to visit the zoo. Everything is going along in typical zoo fashion when she suddenly hears someone say "Pssst!". She looks around and all she sees is the gorilla. Surely not... yep, it's the gorilla. He's got a very simple request: he broke the tire on his tire swing and would like her to pick up a new one for him. Actually two,...more
Using a mix of colored pencils and paint (can't tell the type, only that the style is awesome), Rex tells the story of a little girl off to visit the zoo. Everything is going along in typical zoo fashion when she suddenly hears someone say "Pssst!". She looks around and all she sees is the gorilla. Surely not... yep, it's the gorilla. He's got a very simple request: he broke the tire on his tire swing and would like her to pick up a new one for him. Actually two,...more
If you're looking for unique illustrations, this is the book to go to. The backgrounds are all busy, monochromatic, and flat/sketchy. The animals and main character are three dimensional and colorful. The overall effect is visually dynamic and very cute. The story is about a girl who goes to the zoo and is surprised to find that all the animals need her to bring them something and have bizarre reasons for why they need the items. The plot is a bit goofy but great for story-time.
Another big winner from my new favorite author/illustrator Adam Rex (Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich). He is THE go to guy for kids with a sense of humor (and their parents). Here we have a (slightly androgynous) child whose zoo visit is interrupted by a string of bizarre requests from the inhabitants. Very funny ending with fabulous and elaborate illustrations along the way!
Pssst! by Adam Rex is a book that adults will enjoy as much as kids. It reads like a comic with text in cartoon bubbles and wonderful illustrations. What starts out as a girl's visit to the zoo, becomes an escapade for the animals. Each animal calls the girl over with the noise Pssst! My girls quickly caught on to this repeated text and enjoyed saying Pssst! with each new animal. The story builds up at perfect pace for a suprise ending that leaves everyone smiling.
This book was another one that was in our zoo-themed library book bundle. It turned out to not be particularly appropriate for my 13 month-old because it takes a more sophisticated reader (or listener) to appreciate the details and jokes in the illustrations, and it is written more like a comic book than a typical storybook narrative.
I enjoyed it, though, and will have to try to remember to share it with my son again when he gets a bit older.
I enjoyed it, though, and will have to try to remember to share it with my son again when he gets a bit older.
While walking through the zoo, a little girl is summoned by one animal at a time to gather an object for him. This cumulative tale concludes with an unexpected ending that brings the animals and all the collected objects together. the zoo Zany illustrations combining drawing and elements of comics. Funny jokes in the detail, e.g. the sidewalk sale that offers 50% items starting with "T" and other the "koo-koo-kachoo" sign by the walrus.
This is an entertaining story about a trip to the zoo. The illustrations are filled with one-color line drawings along with humorous blocks of dialogue. We each took parts in the story and had fun using funny voices and pointing out the hilarious details. We really enjoyed reading this book together and will certainly look for more books by Adam Rex at our local library.
Meh. The illustrations were kinda funny but also kinda distracting. And I couldn't tell if the main character was a boy or a girl. I was sure it was a boy until there looked to be hair clips in his, uh, her hair.
Fun idea, I guess, where the animals talk to the kid and ask him, umm, her, to do them favors. My 4-year-old liked it. But I wasn't too impressed. I'm definitely not going to look up Adam Rex's other books.
Fun idea, I guess, where the animals talk to the kid and ask him, umm, her, to do them favors. My 4-year-old liked it. But I wasn't too impressed. I'm definitely not going to look up Adam Rex's other books.
A girl goes to the zoo and the animals ask her to get them things. The gorilla wants a new tire to swing on, the penguins want some spraypaint to liven up their monochomatic environment, and the turkeys want some corn to convert into clean burning fuel. Kids will be mildly amused, but adults of a certain turn of mind will find this hilarious. Watch the backgrounds for things like a life-sized narwhal snowglobe.
This wouldn't make a very good read-aloud book, because of the comic strip-style dialog balloons and the small details in the pictures. It is, however, completely hilarious. A young girl goes to the zoo, only to be waylaid by animals who all have perfectly reasonable requests: tires for the gorilla, whose swing is broken; helmets for the sloths, who keep falling out of the trees; flashlights for the bats, because while they like the dark, the hippo doesn't... But what do they REALLY want all thi...more
Adam Rex writes everything from picture books to poetry to chapter books and yet his writing stays consistently hilarious and clever every time. Pssst! is no exception, as a boy can't make it through the zoo without a laundry list of requests from various animals. But what do the animals want with all this stuff? Read this very funny picture book to find out!
This book was laugh-out-loud funny for the whole family. The illustration style is a mixture of sparse (backgrounds) and detailed (main characters), but there's a lot to see and appreciate in those backgrounds. And unlike Tree-Ring Circus, it has an entertaining plot!
This book is so much fun!
A kid visits the zoo, and the animals talk to her, telling her things that they want: the gorilla wants a tire, the penguins paint, the sloths bicycle helmets.
The illustrations are delightful, full of sly puns and visual jokes, and perfectly suited to the text. Parents and kids will both enjoy this one.
A kid visits the zoo, and the animals talk to her, telling her things that they want: the gorilla wants a tire, the penguins paint, the sloths bicycle helmets.
The illustrations are delightful, full of sly puns and visual jokes, and perfectly suited to the text. Parents and kids will both enjoy this one.
This is not a kids book. I want to get that out now. However, this book totally made my laugh. There a ton of humorous adult-references (I am the Walrus [koo-koo kachoo]) that will go over children's heads. It's not a book I'd really read aloud, but I would definitely leave it on my coffee table.
Funny book about a child who visits the zoo and the animals talk him into bringing items to them. This a book that forces you to use your imaginaition. This is a book that will keep you laughing and giggling the whole way through. This book could be used to show how working together as a team can pay off.
A young girl visits the zoo. The animals say, "psst!" to get her attention and then they proceed to ask for strange things. The young girl seems to be a little annoyed but she keeps her word and buys the animals the strange things they requested. What will the animals do with them?
Illustrations are unusual but interesting. Great book to talk about talk bubbles and dialogue. Rex attempts to create humor but I did not find the jokes to be funny.
Illustrations are unusual but interesting. Great book to talk about talk bubbles and dialogue. Rex attempts to create humor but I did not find the jokes to be funny.
Much like Chopsticks, this is a book that is for adults as much as it is for children; you'll get a pretty good idea of what is to come from the map on the inside front cover. (=
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Adam Rex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the middle of three children. He was neither the smart one (older brother) or the cute one (younger sister), but he was the one who could draw. He took a lot of art classes as a kid, trying to learn to draw better, and started painting when he was 11. And later in life he was drawn down to Tucson in order to hone his skills, get a BFA from the University of Ar...more
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