A Perfectly Messed-Up Story
(Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)
Little Louie's story keeps getting messed up, and he's not happy about it! What's the point of telling his tale if he can't tell it perfectly? But when he stops and takes a deep breath, he realizes that everything is actually just fine, and his story is a good one—imperfections and all.
Don't miss these other books by Patrick McDonnell:
Me... Jane
Hug Time
The Gift of Nothing
The Monster's Monster
The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC's
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Level 1.4, 0.5 Points
Patrick McDonnell. (2014). A Perfectly Messed-Up Story. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Patrick McDonnell. 2014. A Perfectly Messed-Up Story. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Patrick McDonnell, A Perfectly Messed-Up Story. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2014.
MLA Citation (style guide)Patrick McDonnell. A Perfectly Messed-Up Story. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2014.
| Library | Owned | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Digital Collection | 1 | 0 |
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- bioText: Patrick McDonnell is the author and illustrator of Tek: The Modern Cave Boy, Thank You and Good Night, A Perfectly Messed-Up Story, The Monsters' Monster, and Me...Jane, a Caldecott Honor Book. He is also the creator of the internationally syndicated comic strip Mutts, which inspired his picture books The Gift of Nothing, Hug Time, and others. He lives in New Jersey.
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- fullDescription
- In this interactive read-aloud perfect for fans of Beautiful Oops! and The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes, bestselling author and award-winning artist Patrick McDonnell creates a funny, engaging, and almost perfect story about embracing life's messes.
Little Louie's story keeps getting messed up, and he's not happy about it! What's the point of telling his tale if he can't tell it perfectly? But when he stops and takes a deep breath, he realizes that everything is actually just fine, and his story is a good one—imperfections and all.
Don't miss these other books by Patrick McDonnell:
Me... Jane
Hug Time
The Gift of Nothing
The Monster's Monster
The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC's - gradeLevels
- value: Grade 50
- reviews
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- source: Kirkus Reviews, starred review
- content: Brilliant.... A playful, funny, and friendly treatment of anxiety and life's unpredictable messes.
- premium: False
- source: Publishers Weekly, starred review
- content: Louie's exaggerated reactions...will trigger laughs with every page turn....McDonnell... excels at reminding his characters—and readers—that it's possible to keep it together even when life has jelly all over it.
- premium: False
- source: School Library Journal
- content: Classic McDonnell pen, ink, and watercolor pastels blend with mixed-media and crayon messes to make this untidy tale a victory for unkempt books everywhere. Keep calm, and read on!
- premium: True
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Starred review from August 18, 2014
Louie, one of McDonnell’s adorable button-nosed creatures, is in the middle of his own story, singing happily when he notices some jelly on the pages. It’s not just a drawing—the photographic blob looks very real, as if readers had spilled jelly on their own book. Then a splotch of peanut butter lands on Louie’s head. “My story is getting all messed up!” he cries. A flurry of fingerprints, a splash of orange juice, and crayon scribbles soon follow. “This is the worst thing ever!” Louie wails, arms flailing wildly. The official-looking narration that starts and restarts as the book progresses (“This is Louie’s story”) turns out to be a kind of coach, an objective voice that urges Louie to take the long view. “I’m still here,” he concludes. “You’re still reading. And it is a pretty good story, messes and all.” Louie’s exaggerated reactions to the growing mess will trigger laughs with every page turn. Yet McDonnell (The Monster’s Monster) excels at reminding his characters—and readers—that it’s possible to keep it together even when life has jelly all over it. Ages 3–6. Agent: Henry Dunow, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.
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Starred review from September 1, 2014
Here's an existential dilemma: What if you were a character in a book, and sandwich fillings fell onto your page from above? Louie skips across a calm green field under mild skies and neat, fluffy clouds. His footie pajamas are yellow, and his paper-white face is merry. "Tra la la la la," he sings. Suddenly, a blob of jelly falls from above, inferably dropped by a less-than-fastidious reader. "HEY!" shouts Louie in a speech bubble that obscures the text, nonplussed. He sniffs and licks the jelly for positive identification, squinting and declaring dissatisfaction with this sticky mess, when suddenly from above-"PLOP!" This time it's peanut butter. Enjoyable cartoon physics are at work: The peanut butter falls right onto Louie's face and covers it, but when he leans sideways, he's free of it. The ultrarealistic digitally collaged PB&J splotches retain their exact shape from spread to spread; McDonnell also uses pen and ink, brush pen, crayon and watercolor. More messes deface the idyllic countryside-fingerprints, juice, scribbles and, worst of all, a paper towel that smears rather than cleaning-and Louie has a meltdown. The blank backgrounds that throw Louie's freakout in relief, the interplay between narrative text and Louie's frantic speech bubbles, and Louie's prostrate despair are all brilliant. Happily, the backgrounds reappear (clean, but what's that on the endpaper?), and so does Louie's equilibrium. A playful, funny and friendly treatment of anxiety and life's unpredictable messes. (Picture book. 3-7)COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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September 1, 2014
PreS-Gr 1-Beloved Mutts comic-strip illustrator McDonnell brings children a story about how even the most perfect things can sometimes become...well, messed up. Louie sets out to tell his happy tale about skipping and singing when suddenly a jelly blob interrupts his cheerful narrative. This is soon followed by a peanut butter ("AUGH! The chunky kind!") mess. Louie is horrified that someone would treat his story so carelessly. As the mess builds, Louie becomes more and more anxious, until a really big mess causes him to give up. "I'm just a messy old book...no one will ever want, read, or love," he cries. He soon learns a wise lesson; it is the story that makes the book, not the mess. Life is not without imperfections, and neither are stories. Classic McDonnell pen, ink, and watercolor pastels blend with mixed-media and crayon messes to make this untidy tale a victory for unkempt books everywhere. Keep calm, and read on!-Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
- premium: True
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October 15, 2014
Grades K-2 Little Louie is excited to be in his very own story. It starts out pretty simply: on a pleasant, pastoral background, the story begins, Once upon a time, little Louie went skipping merrily along. Tra la la la, ' he sang. For in his heart, Louie knew everything was just . . . but it doesn't get much farther than that because, out of nowhere, a blob of jelly lands on the page, followed by a bigger blob of chunky peanut butter. The realistic food stains are soon joined by grimy fingerprints and orange juice, and Louie decides to start from the top. This time, however, he is beleaguered by crayon scribbles. Though the trashed picture book is not a new device, this iteration is a fun onekiddos who get messy with their books will likely giggle at a character's reaction to the surprise splatters, and the cartoonish Louie, sparely composed of just a few brushstrokes, has some over-the-top reactions. Pair this with Jon Scieszka's Battle Bunny (2013) and maybe a napkin.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)
- premium: True
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January 1, 2015
Cartoony Louie's "perfect story" begins with a scene as banal and unsullied as it gets...until the page turn. Louie's panicked speech balloons interrupt the narrator as realistic-looking blobs of jelly and peanut butter, fingerprints, and orange-juice splatter derail his tale. Eventually Louie is able to see past the unexpected to what really matters. This well-paced story is messed up perfectly--spills and all.(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
- premium: True
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November 1, 2014
"No pages were harmed in the making of this book." This cheeky copyright page disclaimer is undoubtedly true, but the very realistic-looking messes inside -- and on the cover -- make it hard to believe. For Louie, the cartoony character in yellow footie pajamas whose story is derailed by these (virtual) messes, it's all cause for an existential crisis. Louie's "perfect story" begins in classic picture book fashion. "Once upon a time, little Louie went skipping merrily along. 'Tra la la la la, ' he sang." The scene is as bucolic and banal and unsullied as it getsuntil the page turn. Louie's speech balloons interrupt the narrator -- "HEY! Hold on. WHAT'S THAT!?!" A purple gelatinous blob of jelly is followed by a glob of peanut butter ("AUGH! The chunky kind!"), dirty fingerprints, and orange-juice splatter. Discouraged but not defeated, Louie tries again. "From the top!" This time an ill-fated attempt to wipe away crayon scribbles causes Louie to give up: "My story is ruinedGo on without me." It's not over until the narrator says it's over, though, which allows Louie and readers to see past the unexpected to what really matters. More to the point and funnier than Scieszka, Barnett, and Myers's similarly themed Battle Bunny (rev. 11/13), McDonnell's well-paced story is, in fact, messed up perfectly -- strategically placed spills and all. kitty flynn(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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- In this interactive read-aloud perfect for fans of Beautiful Oops! and The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes, bestselling author and award-winning artist Patrick McDonnell creates a funny, engaging, and almost perfect story about embracing life's messes.
Little Louie's story keeps getting messed up, and he's not happy about it! What's the point of telling his tale if he can't tell it perfectly? But when he stops and takes a deep breath, he realizes that everything is actually just fine, and his story is a good one—imperfections and all.
Don't miss these other books by Patrick McDonnell:
Me... Jane
Hug Time
The Gift of Nothing
The Monster's Monster
The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC's - sortTitle
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