Plenty of Pockets

by Ann Braybrooks, Scott Menchin (Illustrator)

When Henry and Henrietta Bunch can't find their son, Junior, in the living room, they know they've got too much stuff. The solution? Henry suggests pockets. And he sits down to sew—pockets, more pockets, pockets on top of pockets. And in goes all their stuff. The plan works well. The house is neat; nothing gets lost. What a pleasure, for a while. Then Junior has a birthday party and the neighbors bring in a few presents. Just a few... •Intriguing artwork by a bold illustrator whose work appears regularly in Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, and the New York Times •Playful 6-panel gatefold unfolds to reveal amusing images

34 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2000

Reviews

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The text is a little long for a preschool story time, and the illustrations don't really appeal to me, but it does have an extended fold-out page showing all the pockets on the dad (on one side) and the mom (on the other side).

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit silly, but the illustrations are fun.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is fun to read, partly because I was intrigued by the stuff. The use of collage had the items looking very realistic. Plus I recognized some of the books and movies and had a bit of 80s home life nostalgia. There is no real point to the story--unless it's showing how ridiculous and worldly it is to own that much stuff and how much nicer it is to have a clean home. But even that didn't quite come across to me. The idea of all the things they put into all the pockets made me smile. But I smiled the most about how much they took special care of Junior and Max, but not the dog.

Too difficult a book for a storytime, maybe even a lapsit. But a spread out on the floor read would work well! And you could do a little of Where's Waldo while you're at it.