Stuck

When Floyd's kite gets stuck in a tree, he throws his shoe up to dislodge it, only to find that the shoe gets stuck as well. Soon his other shoe, a cat, a ladder, and a succession of ever-larger and ever more absurd objects and creatures are stuck in the three, as Floyd chucks them at the problem. When the tree is laden with everything from a blue whale to a firetruck (complete with firefighters), his kite is finally freed, and Floyd runs off to play. After a full day, he goes to bed, haunted by the feeling that there is something he has forgotten...

Author/artist Oliver Jeffers delivers an absurdly hilarious madcap romp in Stuck, one in which the zany illustrations are more than a match for the narrative hi-jinks. The surreal humor here show more rests not just upon Floyd's unorthodox manner of confronting his problem, but also upon the speech-bubble comments of the people who are dragged into his messy solution, and stranded in the treetop. The artwork is quirky and appealing, in the inimitable Jeffers way that I find difficult to describe, and that, despite not necessarily being to my taste aesthetically, always works just right with the story, and keeps me amused. The scene in which whale, lighthouse, and ship are all sticking up from the tree won a particularly appreciative chuckle. Recommended to all Oliver Jeffers fans, and to anyone looking for picture-books with a somewhat surreal silliness. show less

When Floyd got his kite stuck high in the tree, he knew he was too small to climb the tree, instead, to no avail, he threw his shoe, his cat Mitch, his ladder, a buket of paint, a duck, a chair, his friend's bike, the kitchen sink, the front door to the house, the family car, the milkman, an orangutan, a small boat to knock down the orangutan, a big boat to knock down the small boat, a rhinoceros the knock down the big boat, a long-distance truck to knock down the rhino, and the ouse across the street.

As the tree continued to get cramped with all the objects thrown at it and stuck in it, he continued by throwing in a lighthouse, a whale, and a passing firetruck with fireman thrown one by one.

And, as the book notes, there they stayed, show more every single one of them. Trying to think harder to be successful, he hurled a saw. Ahah, there was success as the kite came down. Forgetting everything else, Floyd went to happily play with his kite. Late at night, just before falling asleep, he remembered that he forgot all the items in the tree.

As a funny ending, Jeffers had the reader know that Floyd wasn't done throwing objects at the tree and he thought "Hang on a minute, I've got a great idea."

At first I didn't like this book, thinking there were others by the author that I enjoyed more. But, when reading it again, I realized the creativity of Jeffers, and knew if the intended audience was a small child, that child would find the book very funny.

I found Jeffer's a first-class story teller. Placing himself in the mind of a little stubborn boy, this author and his book are winners! show less

I did not enjoy "Stuck", the central message of which was for one to be determined in one’s efforts to problem-solve. The problem solver in this story was Floyd, a young boy whose kite got stuck in a tree, as did everything thereafter that he threw up into the tree in order to retrieve the kite. One aspect of the story I did enjoy was the illustrations, which fit the whimsical and child-like nature that it exuded. What I disliked about the book was its lack of a plot, as well as its repetitive nature. There was no real rhyme or reason to the story other than a young boy succeeding in getting various objects and animals stuck in a tree, which leads me to believe that the story was purely written to amuse young children. The book was show more also predictable in nature, which I understand is preferable to young readers, but is not to me as an older reader. I do feel as though this book will appeal to young children’s senses of imagination as well as their creativity, which is a positive aspect of the story. Overall, while the book might be one that might appeal to young children in terms of its humor, it is not one of which I was particularly fond. show less

Stuck tells the hysterical story of a young boy whose kite accidentally gets stuck in a tree. When he is unable to pull it down, he tries throwing his favorite shoe, then his other shoe. However, both get stuck. Soon Floyd is throwing Mitch, the cat, and the milkman into the tree. As the narrative proceeds, wilder and wilder objects are tossed--the family car, a lighthouse, and the house across the street. Desperate, Floyd has an idea and fetches a saw. Just as the reader thinks he is about to cut down the tree, Floyd tosses the saw up. However, there is no more space, so the kite falls down.

This book is an example of cumulative plot as it depends on repetition for its forward movement. Floyd continues to throw items into the tree to show more try and retrieve the previous item until reaching the climax where the original item, the kite, is rescued. This is an example of a fantasy because it is not possible for a young boy to pick up a house or a whale and throw it into a tree. His impossible strength is a non-realistic element. However, because the book is grounded in a realistic situation at the beginning of the book, readers may view it as believable to some extent.

GENRE: FANTASY

USE:
- provide students with an outline of a tree and have each student draw a kite in it. How would they knock down the kite? Allow students to use their imagination and see how many items they can fit into the tree. (Have students draw, or provide images for them to cut and make a collage with)
- teach perspective and allow creativity by having students write a short story from the perspective of something that was thrown up the tree--the milkman, the neighbor lady, the firefighters, Mitch, the cat, or even the shoe. show less

I enjoyed "Stuck" by author/illustrator Oliver Jeffers. I liked the simple illustrations that Jeffers used that emphasize only the young boy , the tree his kite is stuck in and all the items he continues to throw at the tree, unsuccessfully, in order to get the kite out of the tree. As I read, I thought it was funny that Jeffers would intentionally introduce items that we assume are going to be used in a more traditional manner only to find that once again the boy chooses to toss more problems at the tree. A great example of this is the fire engine and crew who could simply climb up and remove the kite, but as we turn the page, we find that once again the boy has decided to toss them at the tree in another failing attempt to remove it. show more I enjoyed the childlike qualities of Jeffer's illustrations and the handwritten text, which gave the story the feeling of voice, helping me to imagine someone re-telling their account of Floyd's ridiculous attempts to resolve his issue. The theme of this book is problem solving and emphasizes looking for resolutions to problems beyond what caused our issue in the first place. show less

So cute and funny! By the point that the firemen arrived on the scene, I was laughing out loud.

It's difficult to read in storytime, but worth the effort -- kids love it!

Stuck is a hilarious book about a boy named Floyd and his journey to get his kite unstuck from the tree. Throughout his journey he continues to throw more and more objects up in the tree to get his kite out. One object after another join the kite in being stuck. It progresses to the point where he is throwing everything he can think of into the tree, including a ladder and even firemen! At the end he is able to throw one last thing into the tree that was full, and due to the lack of space, his kite became unstuck. The rest of the objects however, remain in the tree when he goes to bed.