Mr. Ball Makes a To-Do List (Jump-Into-Chapters) - Hardcover

Denied full-time employment as a professional chocolate-cake-eater, Michael Townsend has nevertheless managed to create deliciously funny and award-winning books and graphic novels for kids. Visit his website at www.mikeisgreathelikeschocolatecake.com.

Like an unholy union between the Dick and Jane series and R. Crumb style psychedelia, Townsend's contribution to the Jump-Into-Chapters line introduces an animate yellow ball with an enormous grin, rubbery limbs, and manic energy that never abates. To-do lists are Mr. Ball's passion, and he attempts to knock off a few items over the book's four sections, with limited success. The house Mr. Ball builds for his pet cat, Ms. Kitty Cow, winds up a misshaped pile of lumber, and he only paints half of his own house before falling off a ladder, dousing himself with Pepto-Bismol pink paint, and opting to spend the day chasing butterflies instead. Townsend's (Cute and Cuter) hero is as much punching bag as protagonist--later adventures have him punted into the sky by an unhappy mama rabbit and sprayed at close range by a skunk. The adrenalized emotions, rampant slapstick, and comics-style format make this a good pick for kids who generally would rather watch SpongeBob reruns than pick up a book. --Publishers Weekly

A manic Pac-Man lookalike loves making to-do lists, but he has a certain amount of trouble (read: major difficulties) following through. Townsend adopts a thoroughly overcaffeinated style conveyed in loud colors! huge sound effects! helpful directions for readers ("THIS BOOK STARTS HERE") and exclamation points aplenty! He bounces his globular, easily distractible taskmeister through two days of slacking off after good starts culminating in an attempt to hug an angry bear that Mr. Ball survives only thanks to a rather-too-eager skunk. Enter Mr. Ball's animal friends, who assure him that "You really are a smelly stink-monster!" but fall into an exuberant group hug once he washes off the reek in tomato sauce. That sauce also comes in handy for the last item on his agenda, which is having dinner: One pot of spaghetti later, his whole to-do list is at last To-done! A wild romp, with the volume turned up to 11. --Kirkus Reviews