I liked this book until the end. A little boy dramatically declares he won't read a fairly thick-looking book. The words are too hard. He reads too slowly.
He won't read the book even if you dangle him over a cliff. Upside down. With sharks below. From a rope that's breaking!
But then...it turns out he's being dangled upside-down by his mom and in the end they're going to read the book together before bedtime.
Ok, I realize there's a trend in education for teaching kids to read younger and younger, but most kids don't start to hate reading until at least first grade, usually second or third. Few moms can dangle a second or third grader upside down, let alone throw him in the air and catch him, especially a woman as skinny as the mom pictured! Would an older child even want that? It's more something you'd do with a preschooler. I just felt there was a clash between the child's age and attitude and it bugs me. And there's no real reason for him to suddenly change his mind and want to read the book.
Verdict: The pictures are cute, very Santat-like, and the mounting list of horrible things is hilarious, but I can't handle the ending. I might read it on a school visit, where I don't have to finish it!
ISBN: 9780547049717; Published September 2011 by Clarion; Borrowed from the library
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