The Slant Book

by Peter Newell

"Where Bobby lives there is a hill—
A hill so steep and high,
'Twould fill the bill for Jack and Jill
Their famous act to try

Once Bobby's go-cart broke away
And down this hill it kited.
The careless Nurse screamed in dismay
But Bobby was delighted…"

Long before Richard Scarry or Dr. Seuss, an American artist delighted a generation of children and their parents with hilarious, topsy-turvy illustrations and slightly subversive tales told in rhyme. This was illustrator/author Peter Newell.

Originally published in 1910, The Slant Book remains as profoundly enjoyable and incredibly popular as ever. The humorous text and funny illustrations are also slanted to create an adventurous tale. This classic work will delight readers of all ages as they follow a go-cart, a newsboy and a careening baby carriage down a hill.

Peter Newell (1862-1924) began his career as an artist drawing portraits, using crayons as his medium. In his fantastic humor, many believe, is the first appearance of the gentle humor of the absurd which The New Yorker has subsequently developed to such a high level.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Poetry, Classics, Action

56 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

Peter Sheaf Hersey Newell (March 5, 1862 – January 15, 1924) was an American artist and writer. He created picture books and illustrated new editions of many children's books. -wiki

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synopsis: A boy in a go-cart rushes down a hill, smashing into one person after another.

Format: The book literally slanted.

Text: This is a rhyming poem and includes some pretty challenging words.

My reaction: Cool idea with the slanted pages. I found the manic glee on the boy's face as he destroys things a little disturbing, especially since some of those people would definitely have been seriously hurt. I would have enjoyed more a similar approach with a less violent progress.

I'll probably check out something else by Newell.

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished The Rocket Book and wanted to see if Gutenberg had any other by this author. There were quite a few listed under his name, but mostly as illustrator. This was the only other title showing him as the author.

It was a 1910 book and instead of a rocket going up through a building we have a boy in his baby buggy going down a hill. And this book was created on a slant. Here is a note in the Gutenberg edition: The original book is printed and bound so that alternating pages (and the text on those pages) are at a 15 degree incline or decline.

Gutenberg tilted the illustrations, but naturally to get the full effect you would need to read an actual copy. In my opinion, it is not as cute as The Rocket Book, and the little boy's face gets creepy at times, but it is still clever.

Naturally in real life there would have been a lot of injuries if such a thing happened, especially when Bobby and his 'go-cart' crash through a pane of glass, but think of it as a cartoon and you won't be too worried about all those innocent bystanders or young Bobby, who was having the time of his life!

Here's the link for the Gutenberg edition http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17254/...

[Sandra Dias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cativou-me pelo design, com o seu formato engraçado em losango e o seu título divertido.

Acabou por me deliciar com o seu texto em quadras hilárias e ilustrações belas que ajudam a complementar tal história original sobre um menino num carrinho, numa ladeira inclinada.

[João Teixeira · Rating 3 out of 5]

As ilustrações deste livro tinham um ar algo antigo, e confirma-se... ele é de 1910! Eheh! Só o descobri depois de o ter lido, indo às letrinhas pequeninas que vêm no início do livro.
Uma agradável descoberta. E um trabalho de tradução para Português bem feito, visto que os versos das quadras rimam e conseguem acompanhar as ilustrações.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The traditional ABAB poetry had the words singing in my ears. The glee illustrated on Bobby’s face as he careened down the hill in his carriage, colliding with everything in his path, brought a sense of “wind in my hair” as well as a “need for speed” pulsing through my veins. And, of course, the fact that this entire book was published on a slant (the book is in the shape of a rhombus) makes it extra unique and fun for all readers.

[Sonaksha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one on a humid afternoon and it kept me thoroughly happy and entertained for those few minutes. Love the idea of the book being slant. I particularly enjoyed the illustrative style and the way the tale was woven into a rhyme.

[Kobda Rocha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sin trabajo cuesta abajo

Librazo maravilloso y encantador. Hasta quise tener hijos cuando lo leí sólo para mostrárselos. Sin duda, el regalo perfecto para un sobrino, vecino, nieto, o cualquier infante a quien haya que regalar algo. Incluso un adulto se puede ir de lado nomás de leer este librón tan estupendo. Claro que (nomás porque soy un quejumbroso) el texto, para mi gusto, podría mejorarse. Me refiero a la traducción del poema. Sólo eso: una traducción más chula y, ¡listo!, tenemos un libro perfecto.

[Mahlon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Available through Library of Congress.

The illustrations in this are BOMB; they're rich, evocative, and surprisingly modern for a 1910 children's picture book. The text follows the same ABAB pattern through its entirety, which makes it a little dull. Some of the word choices, like "perambulating," make this a more challenging (and outdated) read, but it was still cute and enjoyable. I also wish there were more slant rhymes in this actually slanted book.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published 1910, reprinted 1967. I saw this book on display as part of an exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center and was so intrigued that I ordered a copy of the reprint. It's a wild ride! An inattentive nanny allows a child in a baby carriage (or baby buggy, or perambulator, or pram, or whatever you call it) to go speeding down a hill. Calamities ensue. The entire book as well as all the text and illustrations are slanted, as you may have figured out based on the little picture of the cover.

[Óscar Trobo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vertiginoso descenso de una suerte de Cocoliso avant-la-lettre por una calle inclinada arramblando con todo a su paso, Tratándose de un libro en formato especial, la versión para Kindle debe tener su gracia.

[Shelly Koressel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about gravity situation. Fun for 2nd and 3rd graders.

[Austria Kovalenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books is literally, physically, slanted! Kind of makes sense why we make books so straight edged... Because it's easier to hold. But actually, it was fun to explore a the writing AND illustrations at a slant, as well as the whole story itself being told about how the whole village is on a hill .... Really great book.
Did the book have a plot? Well, I picked it because it was first published in 1910! So the story will be COMPLETELY different to today's books ... To every book though, everything has an end, but in this book the plot seemed to focus more on the moment, such as the chaos made by a small child upon his whole village people. Something quite normal to think about children in that time? It's something so rare to read about in children's books today. Today we might be focusing a bit too much on thinking it's good to give so much freedom to a child with no boundaries (because boundaries limit the child!?! Crazy). And this thinking is probably a result of books such as this one where children should not be allowed ANY freedom at all. If they are given the freedom they can't stop and will come crashing at the end. Fascinating, isn't it??! 😃

A fun read, and the eyes were all big in every face of an illustration which was kind of odd, in general it's a book for the shelf!

[Kasandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for the text, 4 for the illustrations, which are truly creepy - but also very modern for a book that came out in 1910. The adventures of a boy and his runaway go-cart/carriage are more violent than would be allowed in a children's book these days (some kids will love this - it's definitely on the order of violent cartoons, i.e. all in good fun). A number of fantastic vocabulary words you'd never see in a contemporary children's book! The rhyme scheme does get dull, but again, probably as a kid I'd have enjoyed them thoroughly. I love the concept of having the book shaped and printed in a slanted form. I read this online through The Public Domain Review - check them out!

[karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Me gustó la idea de un libro literalmente inclinado, me parece muy original, pero esperaba que la historia también lo fuera. La historia es linda, entretenida, pero -al menos en la traducción al español- algunas rimas se sienten forzadas y no todas se pueden leer "con la misma melodía". Tendría que chequear cómo manejaron la rima en el original, porque si estuviera bien manejada le pondría 3 estrellitas.

[Mathew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in the States in 1910, Newell's The Slant Book was one of the earliest 'picturebooks' and one which was postmodern before it became a trendy thing. Written in a,b,a,b rhyming format, we follow the baby in the pram as the reading tilts the book and sets him on his way down streets, paths and farm land. The reader themselves actively support the book's slant (it is rhomboid in shape) and children, in anything, will enjoy being part of the mischief that the baby gets up to.

[C M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why bother publishing this text-only version of a minor children’s book classic

The entire point of this book, which is literally published on a [non-squared] slant, is the interplay between the all-askew images and a raucous text. To reduce it to this text-only version—even if this Kindle edition is free—is just a cheap (or I suppose gratis) tease. Better just to remove this from the Kindle store.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bobby's go-cart (what most people would call a baby cart today) is let go accidently by his nurse - the slant of the sidewalk (think of certain San Francisco neighborhoods) sends Bobby on a fast paced ride to the bottom; bumping into and knocking over people on his way down! A fun book that is filled with fast paced problems!

[Yvonne O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I’m usually not a fan of rhyming stories, this one gets a pass just because of the elevated vocabulary! The font is also cursive, which is probably challenging for the younger generations to read.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun, my kids loved this. The illustrations are genius.

[Jennifer Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fast.

It was one long.string of poetry. It was unusual and funny. Although, it lost a.little of it's charm with printing-style.

[Rich Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun. Loved the rhymes. And the silliness. And of course the shape of the book!

[Kátia Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muito divertido! Uma mistura de prosa e poesia numa aventura emocionante!! E o livro fica inclnado mesmo! Lindo para decorar também.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iconic

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun silly little gimmick book. It's kinda long but it's definitely funny and charming.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quaint little poetry book about a peculiar incident of a runaway perambulator, for ages 3 and up :D

[Juan Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo que más valor tiene en este libro es su carácter de objeto. La forma en que la historia y el formato del libro se combinan es realmente ingeniosa.

[Sofía González Ríos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qué bella edición 🥺💖

[Ana Paulo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amo poesia que rima 😌

[Shelly Shropshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book. A little too long.

[Mongeta Verda · Rating 5 out of 5]

un llibre molt original en el format i divertit en el contingut, un clàssic imprescindible. la versió de Miquel Desclot funciona molt bé però tinc curiositat per llegir les rimes originals.