Welcome Home, Henry

Welcome Home, Henry
Bill Martin Jr. ~ pics Muriel Batherman ~ Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970

I'm not sure if my son quite gets the subtle humor in this book, but word/design junkies like myself will enjoy. As the subtitle describes, it truly is A Monkeying Around with Print Book.

A boy arrives home and his mother calls downstairs. The book illustrates the conversation that takes place up and down the stairs, calling back and forth. Words go down, over, sideways, backwards and upside down. Bubbles pop out whenever one talks to the other.

Said Mother in a loud voice that carried downstairs to the front door, "Is that you Henry?" Said Henry in a quiet voice that didn't carry upstairs, "Yeah, I'm home."

The conversation gets misunderstood, and like all Moms, this one can somehow see through the floor and bust the boy doing things he shouldn't be. Though one can't help but worry why Mom doesn't get her butt downstairs and give her son a proper hug rather than parenting through the floor, me thinks that's not really the point. The pocket size is perfect for the purse and seeing the words all a-jumble is a great showstopper for the little ones. I imagine when my son learns to read, he'll have a time unpuzzling this one. I love the small paper cutouts, especially the few-page appearance the cat makes, sticking its head in and out between legs and such. (A tear jerker for me as our house cat slipped out the door last night around six and hasn't been seen since. Sigh.)