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Phooey!
When a restless red-headed boy "Nothing ever happens around here!" (And who hasn't heard that complaint at home?), he kicks a can and sets into motion a series of wonderfully hilarious slapstick events that happen behind him—and because of him. With elephants on parade, pirates around every corner, pies flying, and oranges on the loose, Rosenthal creates an adventure-filled world that is anything BUT boring! Kids will love the silly sounds that abound (Skree, Boing, Ploink), making Phooey! a feast for the eyes and ears. Talented artist Marc Rosenthal presents a madcap tour-de-farce, with excitement and surprises on every page.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published June 26, 2007
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 5, 2007
Pictures look like a blend of Lois Lenski, H.G. Rey and Virginia Lee Burton. And the action is reminiscent of those old Popeye cartoons where "Sweepea" the baby used to crawl along, happily oblivious to every danger that he narrowly escaped. Add the rich array of sound effects, and you've got a winner. Perfect for older picture book readers and for kids who think that they're too old for picture books.
May 1, 2018
This book allows people to see that if you aren't paying attention, then you won't see all of the exciting things happening around you.
DRA Level: 10
Lexile Measure: BR-240
Presentation, Voice, Sentence Fluency
DRA Level: 10
Lexile Measure: BR-240
Presentation, Voice, Sentence Fluency
April 30, 2018
I really liked this book because of how little words were used throughout the book but rather it told a story through the pictures throughout it.
Six + 1Traits: idea, presentation
DRA Level: ~20
Lexile: ~440L
Six + 1Traits: idea, presentation
DRA Level: ~20
Lexile: ~440L
April 29, 2022
Phooey! follows a young boy who claims that nothing ever happens in his city. But little does he know that he started a chain of events that would lead to a very eventful day for all of those around him.
Six Traits +1 - Voice and Organization
Guided Reading: Level F
ATOS: 1.3
Six Traits +1 - Voice and Organization
Guided Reading: Level F
ATOS: 1.3
January 6, 2025
A clever riff on exasperation! The sound effects are especially good.
Sound effects, as in:
* Skree
* Boing
* Ploink
Though I'm no slapstick lover, clearly this picture book deserves FIVE STARS.
Sound effects, as in:
* Skree
* Boing
* Ploink
Though I'm no slapstick lover, clearly this picture book deserves FIVE STARS.
October 15, 2017
Boring… Hah! Not. B
April 27, 2018
Accelerate Reader BL: 2.0 (Estimated)
Lexile: 440L (Estimated)
I like this book because it shows how much you can miss if you're too busy complaining. There are not very many words and mostly illustrations, but I think it works. This book would be more for enjoying at home.
Traits: Presentation
Lexile: 440L (Estimated)
I like this book because it shows how much you can miss if you're too busy complaining. There are not very many words and mostly illustrations, but I think it works. This book would be more for enjoying at home.
Traits: Presentation
June 16, 2019
Here's a book that needs a second or third reading to see what you missed the first time! Fascinating to watch the chain of events unfold.
November 4, 2020
A fun romp through a funny town with a frowny boy who, due to his funk, misses all the freaky fur filled mayhem - that he started! A great example of you see what you want to see.
December 20, 2007
Our hero is one bored kid. There is absolutely nothing going on around him so with an outraged, "PHOOEY!" he kicks an empty can of cat food. A can that, in turn, hits a cat upside the head, causing it to flump to the ground and be chased by a dog. As dog and cat run into a nearby zoo the boy meets up with a friend and complains loudly about the lack of excitement going on. "Nothing ever happens around here! No Way! No How!" Of course, his back is to most of the crazy stuff that's going on. An elephant has now escaped, barrels and pies are flying, navel oranges ("extra bouncy") escape the confines of an outdoor stall, and soon an entire street of people is rendered chaotic. It's only when the elephant riding cat is thrown for a loop into the air and onto the boy's lap that he perks up, sits amazed, and says, "This place is great!" Boredom, it seems, is only there if you expect to find it.
For a book that appears to be so simple, Rosenthal certainly packs in the details. You won't notice these on a first reading, probably. If you're reading the book to a kid then the two of you will have more fun making the sound effects and various noises. It's only when you reach the last page that the kid might turn to you and asks, "Why's the pirate wearing glasses now?" And sure as shooting, there's that pirate you saw earlier wearing a pair of Harry Potter-ish specs. Well, where did he get them? So you do a second read and things start to get all the weirder. Is that a woman removing a canoe from the trunk of her car in the middle of a city? And when you go all the way back, isn't the boy's inadvertent kicking of a can directly responsible for all the nuttiness that happens as a result? The really impressive detail, however, is an image hidden under the back bookflap. On the endpapers you can see our hero combating his boredom in various ways. These appear to be identical to the positions he was in on the FRONT endpapers... and then you lift the flap. There, walking away with a secret smile is the boy with his new kitty cat in hand. It's a pity that many libraries paste down these flaps on their books before circulating them. Looks like they'll be hiding a mighty nice little detail in the process.
In ten years or so a parent might stumble on this book in their local library, note the artistic style, and naturally assume on a first reading that the book was published around the time of Robert McCloskey and the like. This would be a reasonable assumption if you didn't notice some of the newer elements that sneak onto the pages. The cars may look straight out of Double Indemnity, but the bicyclists are all wearing rounded helmets. And there may be things like hat shops, black and white televisions, and cowboys, but at the same time they exist in the same universe as businesswomen and people of other races (not many, but still...). There's a kind of interior logic to Mr. Rosenthal's world that knows how to remain pleasing to our twenty-first century sensibilities.
With hints of Once Upon a Banana and other accumulative picture book tales, "Phooey!" takes ironic boredom to a whole new level. Old-timey enough to charm mod parents with enough visual gags to enchant tykes of all ages, "Phooey!"'s a keeper. Designed for a close reading again and again and again.
For a book that appears to be so simple, Rosenthal certainly packs in the details. You won't notice these on a first reading, probably. If you're reading the book to a kid then the two of you will have more fun making the sound effects and various noises. It's only when you reach the last page that the kid might turn to you and asks, "Why's the pirate wearing glasses now?" And sure as shooting, there's that pirate you saw earlier wearing a pair of Harry Potter-ish specs. Well, where did he get them? So you do a second read and things start to get all the weirder. Is that a woman removing a canoe from the trunk of her car in the middle of a city? And when you go all the way back, isn't the boy's inadvertent kicking of a can directly responsible for all the nuttiness that happens as a result? The really impressive detail, however, is an image hidden under the back bookflap. On the endpapers you can see our hero combating his boredom in various ways. These appear to be identical to the positions he was in on the FRONT endpapers... and then you lift the flap. There, walking away with a secret smile is the boy with his new kitty cat in hand. It's a pity that many libraries paste down these flaps on their books before circulating them. Looks like they'll be hiding a mighty nice little detail in the process.
In ten years or so a parent might stumble on this book in their local library, note the artistic style, and naturally assume on a first reading that the book was published around the time of Robert McCloskey and the like. This would be a reasonable assumption if you didn't notice some of the newer elements that sneak onto the pages. The cars may look straight out of Double Indemnity, but the bicyclists are all wearing rounded helmets. And there may be things like hat shops, black and white televisions, and cowboys, but at the same time they exist in the same universe as businesswomen and people of other races (not many, but still...). There's a kind of interior logic to Mr. Rosenthal's world that knows how to remain pleasing to our twenty-first century sensibilities.
With hints of Once Upon a Banana and other accumulative picture book tales, "Phooey!" takes ironic boredom to a whole new level. Old-timey enough to charm mod parents with enough visual gags to enchant tykes of all ages, "Phooey!"'s a keeper. Designed for a close reading again and again and again.
June 4, 2014
”Nothing ever happens around here,” sighs the little boy the beginning of the story, as he kicks a can in frustration and stalks his way around town. Maybe if he paid more attention to what was going on around him, however , he’d see that there’s a LOT happening, starting when he kicked the can—which flew into the tree, and hit the cat, who fell out of the tree, and was chased by a dog and disrupted a zoo…there’s very little text beyond the boy’s gripes and the various sound effects which are just begging to be read aloud. What a great way to teach your kids to be alert to all the exciting stuff that goes on around them, if only they open their eyes and be curious about the world.
September 14, 2009
I’m not completely sure what this book is about other than the idea that a little boy is bored with his town. He kicks a can at the beginning which leads us as the readers through a chain of events that follow. The little boy walks around town without realizing that one kick of a can could make so much happen. I think this story would only be fun for an infant for the pure reason of noise-making. The caregiver should be creative when reading this book and perhaps the baby will smile or make happy sounds. The pictures aren’t too terribly exciting but the noises would be plenty of fun.
September 22, 2011
this book can be.use.to.show.children your actions have reactions, Even if you don't see it something is going on, if you do not pay attention you can miss so much. the math part you can ask the children how many.reactions happened or have them add subtract or compare and.contrast the number of.things going on per page
February 3, 2014
My rating is actually four and a half stars. I adored the look of this book. Really loved it. It's one of those children's books that looks as though it were planned by a graphic designer - gorgeous.
Classroom Connection
Writers' Workshop - book design, use of white space, use of environmental print, onomatopoeia
Classroom Connection
Writers' Workshop - book design, use of white space, use of environmental print, onomatopoeia
August 2, 2007
Though this is a short low text book theres lot of stuff going on. I love that he misses everything going on around him and that he has not interest in looking around. Each page builds bigger and bigger all the time. The pirates are my favorite cause they are totally up to something.
December 3, 2013
This book has very little words. It is a good book to have the students use their imagination to write about what he could be doing instead of walking around bored. It kept repeating "There's nothing to do!" And it had a lot of sound effects that could be made for what was going on in the book.
May 1, 2014
Notes:
mostly wordless -- the kind of book that gets looked through one time and then not again; best for age 9+ to appreciate the humor and what's really going on; my kitten-loving son did like the ending
mostly wordless -- the kind of book that gets looked through one time and then not again; best for age 9+ to appreciate the humor and what's really going on; my kitten-loving son did like the ending
September 16, 2014
I adored this book! I thought it did a super job with cause and effect. I found it to be humorous, animated, and simple enough to follow. My kids were giggling at some of the especially comical illustrations.
February 19, 2016
The story is told with pictures and very minimal words. A little boy is grumpy because nothing ever happens in his town. But if he took the time to look around, he'd see how wrong he is!
Fabulous illustrations.
Fabulous illustrations.
November 9, 2007
My four year old loves this book! Fantastic comic style story. The pictures are simple, but still manage to have a lot going on.
Read
April 9, 2009Boy complains about nothing ever happening, and misses the craziness the pictures show that is going on all around him. Full of onomatopoeia.
(2006-2009)
(2006-2009)
December 8, 2009
Good book for story time. Good pictures.
February 19, 2012
Very few words, detailed/ironic story in the pictures.
March 9, 2012
a little dull in my opinion
April 8, 2012
Not a lot of dialogue and the illustrations are better for older kids.
November 21, 2012
the kid is oblivious while many interesting things happen behind him.
April 1, 2013
Nothing special.
The stylized illustrations were fun, though.
But not special.
Quite a bit less than special, actually.
The stylized illustrations were fun, though.
But not special.
Quite a bit less than special, actually.
June 14, 2013
Watch what's going on around you! This book has a very madcap, retro feel and is a nice study in drawing action!
July 14, 2013
So many details to explore in a book with old fashioned feel. Love the message that you are bound to find boredom when you are convinced it is there.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews