The Man Who Was Too Lazy to Fix Things - Hardcover

This parable's protagonist has elevated indolence to an art form. For years he has rocked on his porch, leafed through books and fished from his boat. When his sadly neglected home finally begins to crumble around him, he makes small repairs in supremely slipshod fashion--chairs are held together with Band-Aids, chipped paint is covered with shoe polish, cracks in the cement walk are plugged with bubble gum. A birthday visit from the man's family comes in the nick of time; the relatives are as industrious as the man is lazy, and his house is quickly put in order. A sunny palette enhances Cymerman's cartoony artwork--his children's book debut--which somewhat calls to mind Norman Rockwell with a zany edge. The antics of our hero's hyperactive cat are fun to follow, as are his own ridiculous handyman efforts. Youngsters may even pick up on the subtle message in Krasilovsky's ( The First Tulips in Holland ; The Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes ) witty, straightforward text: lazy is as lazy does. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

PreSchool-Grade 3-- A lazy man takes shortcuts when repairing his aging house. He pastes a broken plate back together with flour and water, wraps band-aids around a chair rung, pounds a nail with his shoe, and spreads chewing gum over a crack in the sidewalk. Relatives arrive to celebrate his birthday, and he puts them to work fixing things properly and getting his house in order. Blowing out his birthday candle, the lazy man wishes that nothing will ever break again. The full-page pen and ink and watercolor illustrations frame the text and portray the action. Cheery colors and expressive facial features accentuate the story's broad humor. A good read-aloud and companion to Krasilovsky's The Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes (1950) and The Man Who Tried to Save Time (1979, both Doubleday; o.p.) that's sure to get chuckles from children and adults. --Cassie Whetstone, Ridgeley Primary/Middle School, WV
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.