Guess Again!

This humorous rhyming picture book from Mac Barnett and Adam Rex - the author/illustrator team who collaborated on the surreally amusing Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem - will keep young children guessing - continually setting up expectations, only to pull the rug out from under the reader's feet. "He steals carrots from the neighbors' yard." (it begins) "His hair is soft, his teeth are hard. / His floppy ears are long and funny. / Can you guess who? That's right! My..." With such a set up, and the accompanying black silhouette outline from Rex, the reader might expect the answer to be "Bunny." But... Guess Again!

I enjoyed this unusual little book, and thank my friend Chandra (who is a real Adam Rex aficionado) for show more recommending it! The rhymes work well - so well that their interruption is particularly effective - the illustrations, whether silhouette or full color, are amusing, and the design, which includes some flaps, is geared toward reader interaction. I suspect that younger readers will find Guess Again! an immensely entertaining reading adventure, giggling as the answers are revealed! show less

I rarely review picture books. I spend a couple hours each day reading them to my 18m old and 4y old, and they start to blend together after a while. This was a fun change of pace. I was laughing out loud and so were my husband and four year old. We were still laughing after reading out for the third time that day. I loved my kid's reaction to the end, when she has realized that the answer to the riddle would be strange and unexpected and yet the final riddle still surprises you.

I'm telling you, I want this in my collection. Not only is it funny, but it's serious brain science (whether or not Adam and Mac realize it).

See, the thing is, I'm a fan of puzzles.* I'm experienced at looking for clues of all sorts. Of course I was solving the kinds of puzzles parodied here when I was a tot, and since then I've moved on to 'lateral thinking puzzles' and everything else I can get my hands on. But after reading this book, and getting so frustrated that I could not guess one solitary single revelation, my subconscious whirled around the experience. For several hours I had the sense that there was something about this book that I wanted to think consciously about, but my subconscious held out on me; the thoughts were show more elusive.

Finally, as I was drifting off to sleep, I realized what the deal is. This book will rewire your brain, if you let it. If you've not read it yet, I recommend you spend real time trying to second-guess the author. You know the answer isn't the obvious one - so, what could it be? I doubt very much you'll be able to guess - and the shock to your brain can create whole new patterns of synaptic connections. Which is a good thing.

Now, I don't know if kid's brains can have this same experience, seeing as they're not hard-wired yet. But for me, it was intense.


*To clarify, for my followers who have been reading my reviews of puzzle books lately, I'm not really good at them. But I do keep trying! show less

In this hilariously demented picture book, Barnett presents a series of rhymes encouraging children to guess who or what is hiding behind Rex's illustrations. The seemingly obvious conclusions to the rhymes are fractured again and again, to the certain delight of young readers. "What's furry, scurries, and has fleas? / Who climbs our counters and eats our cheese? / We've set up traps all through the house / But still can't catch that pesky--" Turning the page reveals the culprit cowering behind the wall: "--Viking." Rex's illustrations lend themselves to the confusion, with pages involving rabbit silhouettes, lift-the-flap pirates, die-cut mouse holes, and more. The colors are vivid, the palette lending itself to the cartoonish show more goofiness of the rest of the book. Some children may be frustrated to find nothing is what they expect, but mostly this will fit right into a pre-schooler's anything-goes sense of humor.

Well, I thought it was hilarious, anyway. show less

I rarely review picture books. I spend a couple hours each day reading them to my 18m old and 4y old, and they start to blend together after a while. This was a fun change of pace. I was laughing out loud and so were my husband and four year old. We were still laughing after reading out for the third time that day. I loved my kid's reaction to the end, when she has realized that the answer to the riddle would be strange and unexpected and yet the final riddle still surprises you.

I heard this book mentioned as a great read-aloud, and after reading it myself, I have to agree. It continually confounds readers' expectations in magnificently silly ways, and both words and illustrations match the overall tone of unpredictability. I can imagine sharing this one-on-one, but can also imagine it in a group setting, with listeners shouting out what they think the hidden image is.

Had me laughing nearly with tears in my eyes on page two.
This is a book that deals with the assumptions that one makes just by hearing some details and not knowing the whole conversation, or situation. This book taxes completely what we know to be true historically- and culturally. It is a great read for any age.