Crabtree

by Jon Nichols, Tucker Nichols

Alfred Crabtree has lost his false teeth. But don’t worry, he’ll find them if he can just get his things organized! Alfred’s world is cluttered with surprising objects. Some are very uncommon, and some are probably not where they ought to be. There are a lot of pencils and small yapping dogs. There’s a squeeze bottle of mustard, a plunger, a rubber band or two, a few very fancy hats, and a group portrait of sea monsters. There’s an old cassette tape, a swizzle stick, a bicycle pump, and an armadillo shell. Join Alfred on a romp through his far too many possessions and you’ll end up learning more about him than he knows about himself. And maybe he’ll find his teeth in all that stuff!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Jon Nichols is a musician, writer, and lover of snack foods. He lives in California's beautiful but spendy Bay Area. A junebug once got stuck in his ear and had to be removed by medical professionals.

Reviews

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Wes Anderson and Richard Scarry had a baby.

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first it seems like some sort of pictorial inventory of an unrepentant hoarder's scads of stuff: decoys, swizzle sticks, salt shakers, keys, shells, and mysterious gee-gaws. Jeezy-creezy! It's like visiting my mother's house.



But . . . it's been hours and I still can't tear myself away from the wonders.



Spam and a yam. Mustard on custard. Baby tooth on a Baby Ruth. Falafel with a tall waffle.

Dear God - help me! I'm not sure the library is gonna get this book back.

[Zach Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the best children’s book ever written. Well, I’m going to negate that immediately cause the best children’s book ever written is subjective, but you understand what I’m trying to say. Right? Do you understand what I’m trying to say? I’m actually not sure who you are. Anyone could be reading this. Well, either way, it’s a good one.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the jokes here are for parents who grew up in the 80s and 90s, and not for their kids. Having said that, my son and I laughed really hard together while reading this book. Lots of fun. Delightfully silly.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the fuck did I just read? It’s like the Radiohead “Paranoid Android” video and Wes Anderson went into the Brundlefly telepod with a Shel Silverstein book.

[Justyna Sztuczka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wyszukiwanki to jedne z najciekawszych książek, jakie może posiadać dziecko. Interesują, ciekawią, a poza tym zawsze zaskakują czymś nowym, każde otwarcie książki, każdy obrót stronicy jest całkiem inny, niż poprzednim razem i jeszcze poprzednim też.

Doskonałym przykładem jest wydana przez wydawnictwo @dwiesiostry "Szczęka Alfreda" autorstwa Jona i Tuckera Nichols. Opowiada historię pewnego mężczyzny, który budząc się rano, nie może znaleźć swojej sztucznej szczęki. Rozpoczyna poszukiwania, radzi się bliskich osób, a dodatkowo robi porządki w swoich rzeczach. W książce tej możemy podziwiać najróżniejsze nakrycia głowy, portrety, wabiki, jedzenie, skorupy i skorupiaki oraz wiele, wiele więcej. A wszystko to pięknie posegregowane podczas poszukiwań szczęki. Poza bardzo ciekawym wnętrzem, które moja córka wprost uwielbia, pewnie ze względu na ciekawe ilustracje i to, że może pokazywać, a mama jej będzie mówić nazwę każdej rzeczy z osobna, książka posiada rewelacyjną obwolutę, którą na przemian zakładamy i zdejmujemy, oczywiście w duecie z Nikolą. Ciekawe, czy domyślacie się, która czynność należy do mnie, a która do Nikoli.

"Szczęka Alfreda" to dosyć dawno wydana pozycja, jednak nie oznacza, że jest mniej wartościowa. Szczerze Wam ja polecam! Ciekawe, czy znajdziecie szczękę!

[Lisa Yarger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it last night with my 11-year-old daughter who at first declared she was too old for picture books. At the end: "That's a cool book." We busted out laughing at the notices on the back inside cover ("Do I own a dog named Pickles? - Alfred" .... "I can never find my doorbell. - Alfred.") I think younger kids will also find Crabtree's search for his false teeth hilarious; I'm going to share it at the next children's reading I do at my bookshop.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super odd book. Arthur Crabtree loses his teeth, so he follows his various sisters' advice: sort all his belongings, put them in boxes, and then his teeth will remain. The large format book might be good to look through with children, where they can point at individual items and say the names - like a Richard Scarry book - but I didn't see the point of it for a me-like audience.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed all the tiny little funny things written by each object in this book. A man is trying to find his false teeth! 🤣 But he has tons of stuff, so his sisters give him advice about organization. Really funny.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oscar and I like all the things (he love books with just lots of things that are each named). I'm not the biggest fan of how the people are illustrated. Still,

[Linnea · Rating 4 out of 5]

So very goofy and silly. My 4 yr old had some serious giggles. Good lesson for hoarders. A bit like reading a Fawlty Towers kids picture book :)

[Orwellka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ale super książka do uczenia słów! I czytania :-)

[Sheree · Rating 5 out of 5]

So. Much. Fun. Everything about this book amuses me. It took great inner strength to give this book to my grandson, as I wanted to keep it for myself, lol!

[Hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crabtree is a collector (perhaps even a hoarder). There are many children's books that follow the format of a series of pages filled with things. Most give instructions for kids to do certain things. Outside of the wanted posters in the back of the book, this volume seems more intent on giving the reader the freedom to do what they want. There are pages that suggest certain actions (like the page of broken things), but otherwise there is just a world of random stuff to search. My favorite thing might be Timothy's chair or the box of x-ray equipment. This is one of those books that will offer new discoveries on return visits.

[margothere · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe I need my own copy of this book. Alfred Crabtree cannot find his false teeth, and we need to look through all his stuff to find them. Poor Alfred has a lot of things which will appeal to kids and their associated adults (do they still make Right Guard in an aerosol??) And there's sorting!!! Alfred sorts things to see if he can find his teeth. This is personally appealing because I used to "help" my little brother clean his room and find things by sorting - stuffed animal pile, book pile, papery things, fabric-y things, legos, masking tapey things, broken bits and pieces pile, etc. Love the story, love the illustrations.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would make a very interesting book to read together with a child, allowing for plenty of open-ended question like "What is this? What in the world could that be?" Although I do think some of the cleverest word-play is lost in using such small text to label the many items in Alfred's collection. Though I was not in love with the style of the illustrations, and more could be done fore the delineation of the plot and characters, overall I think it would be a fun read with plenty of opportunity to discuss various concepts, such as colors and shapes and everyday objects.

[Kristina Pasko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my kids last night. You know it's a good book when they both independently ask, "When do we have to return this to the library?" The book borrows from Richard Scarry's concept of crowding the page with images and captions and wacky objects, but takes it further in the wackiness, plus has running gags and themes throughout. Nichols provides a sort-of-literal tip of the hat to Scarry in the form of Lowly's actual hat. See what I mean?

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is totally whacked and keeps you turning the pages. Alfred has lost his false teeth and is advised to organize his things so that he can find them again. What a strange assortment of things Alfred has! On the front cover, you'll see a broken pencil, a cassette tape of Three Dog Night and a random Lego among other things. Great for kids who need to clean their room! Pair this with Rod Clement's book Grandpa's Teeth for a whack-a-doodle story time.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fresh and minty and unexpectedly pleasant, the size and naming of 2D objects. (Page of "Small Yapping Dogs" -- Emma / always looks guilty; Dora has an / overbite; Powder the cat / shouldn't be in here.) Brilliant pacing (love the ant farm, and the break for TV). I don't know that I love Crabtree but it doesn't seem to matter.

[Indira · Rating 4 out of 5]

the large size of the book might be frustrating for the standard bookshelf but it shouldn't go there. it should be out on the table, in the open. the illustrations are fantastic to teach little kids random words like goblet and egg cup. the story is bizarre (again, part of the mcsweeny's package from rudy) but a great fun read!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of this book was hilarious. My six-year-old son even caught some of the humor. But not everything worked. Not everything worked for me, and certainly not everything worked for my son. I know there is a trend to write for adults with sly winks and nudges, but I'm finding I appreciate those who can write for kids in such a way that the kids get it, and the adults stay interested.

[Katrina Goldsaito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crabtree delights my object-obsessed child and adult self. I did what I would have done as a kid, I sat on the floor and marveled at the illustrations, wanting to find all of the hidden jokes (I know I didn't find all of them). Also, it is a delightful cure-all to that tidying lady. This book makes me nerdy laugh. Which is a very particular kind of laugh for a very particular kind of book.<3

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alfred Crabtree is a hoarder who's lost his teeth. He learns from his sisters how to identify, sort, and box his things, some of which even he doesn't know what they are. A good introduction to kids on how to find things lost in the black hole known as their bedroom.

[bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun & funny book! This truly appeals to my organizing side and horrifies my minimalistic sense. The best part was looking through all the items and labels-- so random, so many questions, and oddly enough, so identifiable.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book but it's a nightmare for libraries because of its size!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book, and I loved the drawings, but the pages were a little bit delicate (AKA, one tore when I went to open it.)

[RH Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Playful visuals that reveal the autobiographical charming melancholy of junk.