Matthew Cordell celebrates books and reading in this picture book about a girl and her father who make up an epic adventure in which she is king!
What is there to do on a snow day when the whole family is stuck indoors? Write a book, that’s what!
Alice does just that, and makes herself the king of her story. Best of all, the story lasts till the lights go out at bedtime.
Matthew Cordell, author and illustrator of the Caldecott award-winning book Wolf in the Snow, celebrates reading and the imaginative way one family handles being housebound. Whether it's a snow day, a sick day, or simply a day that no one can organize going out, families with young children will relish and relate to this charming picture book.
Full-color mixed-media illustrations.
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King Alice (as she insists on being called) is considerably more excited about being stuck inside on a snow day than her father is. Nonetheless, he gamely goes along with her demands for his constant attention while Mom tends to the baby and everyone’s nutritional needs. The king and Sir Dad compose and illustrate an extensive chronicle of their pursuits from tea parties to pirate battles to unicorn stampedes. The best fun here is in Cordell’s cartooned illustrations of the biracial family who never get out of their pajamas until bath time. King Alice crayons the visuals of her story on lined paper while Sir Dad transcribes her text. In the framing story, readers see their real world setting complete with burping baby, ginger cat, and a floor strewn with toys. From the first spread of the unshaven father, yawning and scratching his butt while his daughter informs him that she’s to be addressed as “King Alice the First,” kids will know that they are in for a wild ride through a little girl’s fecund imagination. That Sir Dad is such a willing accomplice (but not a complete pushover) makes this cozy story a delight to share in multiple readings. VERDICT This delightful book-within-a-book will inspire domestic mayhem while enduring a snow day. A must-have.–Miriam Lang Budin, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY