Changes

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A new edition of an outstanding picture book by one of the most popular of all contemporary author/illustrators.On Thursday morning at a quarter past ten, Joseph Kaye notices something odd about the kettle... Thus begins a remarkable day for Joseph, a day in which everything seems to change in the most peculiar of ways. The washbasin grows feet, the armchair becomes a gorilla, his bicycle wheel turns into an apple ... Joseph's father had said when he'd left that morning that everything was going to change. But what had he meant? The book explores the boy's state of mind as he prepares for the return of his parents with his new baby sister.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

``On Thursday morning at a quarter past ten, Joseph Kaye noticed something strange about the kettle,'' reads the intriguing first line of this imaginative picture book. Joseph's father tells his son that ``things were going to change,'' and Joseph watches as the teakettleok turns into a striped cat, the spout of the sink becomes a nose, a soccer ball loses its spots and hatches a bird. Without alarming the reader, Browne ( Willy the Wimp ; Gorilla ) continues the ominous--and humorous--panorama of changes until Joseph's parents return and introduce him to the change his father meant in the first place: his new baby sister. In less skilled hands, the simple device of the transformation of ordinary objects might grow tiresome, but youngsters have learned to expect the unexpected from Browne, and will not be disappointed as Joseph's anxieties are resolved satisfyingly. Browne's illustrations are witty and distinctive, and observant readers will especially enjoy Browne's sly allusions to popular culture and famous works of art. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 3-- A multilayered tale of the effects of a young boy's imagination. Joseph Kaye is left home alone while his father picks up his mother. Before he leaves, he tells Joseph that things are ``going to change.'' At a quarter past ten, Joseph notices that the teakettle slowly metamorphoses into a cat; a slipper becomes a bird. The bathroom sink takes on human qualities: a pants leg, lips, nose. And so it continues throughout the house and the yard where the garden hose becomes an elephant's trunk and Joseph's bicycle wheel becomes an apple. Finally Joseph retreats to the darkness of his room until his parents appear--with his new baby sister. A fantasy strongly reminiscent of The Tunnel (Knopf, 1989), this book does not have the overt humor of Piggybook (Knopf, 1986) or the ``Willy'' books (Random). Although a provocative and intriguing concept that is beautifully and skillfully illustrated, its very visual premise limits its use. Without the guidance of an adult, many young readers, while still delighting in the pictorial alterations , might miss the point of these changes and, thus, the story completely. And most youngsters will not recognize the references to famous works of art or the many other small, pointed details that foreshadow the action. Although many children may be held at a distance by a lack of understanding, this is still an exciting and thought-provoking book. Devoted fans of Browne's work as well as larger collections that appeal to a wide range of esoteric tastes will find a place for it. --Jane Marino, White Plains Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

A young boy at home alone tries to imagine what will happen when his parents return - his father has told him that 'things were going to change.' While waiting, Joseph observes, among other sights, a kettle change into a cat, a chair into a gorilla, a bicycle tire into an apple. Finally, his parents come home with a baby; the last illustration shows a smiling Joseph holding his new sister. A fascinating picture book. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

That morning, his father had gone to fetch Joseph's mother. Before leaving he'd said that things were going to change."" Indeed: as Joseph roams the tidy house, he observes that the kettle is becoming a cat and the living room furniture is taming into jungle beasts, while outdoors his ball becomes an egg from which hatches, midair, a bird. Clearly, the boy is anxious and doesn't know what to expect next, but all comes right when his parents arrive with the new baby. Thanks to Browne's brooding, pellucid art, with its impeccably selected detail and remarkable transformations, this surreal rendition of a common rite of passage packs a lot more power and empathy than the usual realistic approach. Weird but fascinating. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.