There's going to be a wedding in outer space, on planet Nextoo! And, after having tasted Shirl's meatballs, the spaceman ask Shirley and Moe a teeny weeny favor: would they be so kind as to cater the simple celestial celebration for four hundred and eighty-seven alien guests (give or take a few)? Shirl is thrilled, but Moe has his doubts--after all, who wants to travel past Uranus in a spaceship the size of a barbecue?
Arthur Yorinks is a playwright, director, and author of more than thirty-five picture books for children, including the Caldecott Medal–winning Hey, Al, illustrated by Richard Egielski. His most recent picture book is Presto and Zesto in Limboland, illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Arthur Yorinks lives in Cambridge, New York.
I’m trying to get my 4 y/o nephew excited for reading and it’s also my first time really reading children’s books... so experiment time!
On his first-ever trip to the library today (!!) I let him pick out whichever book he wanted. He grabbed this one and the experiment begins!
Pros:
Our story focuses on an older couple catering a wedding on an alien planet. Which is all types of silly and fun.
For some reason Dalton was super into it. He named the two visiting aliens (albeit very silly names) and kept asking if they were coming back to earth.
Cons:
For some reason the aliens shoot at the old people with ray-guns and it’s all dramatic instead of the fun and zany alien adventures I was expecting.
The drawings were... odd. The faces don’t accurately convey emotion and Dalton kept asking why everyone was upset
There’s a whole page dedicated to Uranus jokes
Conclusion: Dalton says it’s a win. I’m gonna have to pass.
Fun and funny, it's so nice to share a creative, original story with my kiddos! Thanks, Disney, for sending us a copy in exchange for an honest review. It was the perfect dose of laughter we needed!
Cross-posted from Kiss the Book reviewer's personal Goodreads account
Yorinks, Arthur Company's Going illustrated by David Small, 40 pages. PICTURE BOOK Disney (Hyperion), 2018 (originally published in 2001). $17.
EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
In the sequel to Company's Coming, the aliens enjoyed their visit with Shirley and Moe so much, that they've asked the couple to come back to their planet (Nextoo) to cater for their sister's wedding.
You've gotta buy both books! What a fun story that comes full circle, in Company's Coming, the aliens visit the Earth (with consequences) and in Company's Going, the the Humans visit the aliens. I love the message that everyone is more afraid about what they don't know than what is actually happening.
The sequel to COMPANY'S COMING actually ranked higher in my book than the first. We pick up just where we left off....the dinner party is over, all the "guests" have gone home, and the alien visitors want to take Shirley and Moe to their home planet...but it's not exactly what you think. A case of mistaken identity, a few ray gun shots, and a whole lot of meatball making magic later, and we close scene with a tear filled goodbye, and a reminder once again that not everything is what it at first appears to be, and everyone deserves a chance.
In the sequel to Company's Coming, the aliens enjoyed their visit with Shirley and Moe so much, that they've asked the couple to come back to their planet (Nextoo) to cater for their sister's wedding.
You've gotta buy both books! What a fun story that comes full circle, in Company's Coming, the aliens visit the Earth (with consequences) and in Company's Going, the the Humans visit the aliens. I love the message that everyone is more afraid about what they don't know than what is actually happening.
"Company's Going picks up with the same characters from Company's Coming, except now Moe and Shirley's alien guests are so taken with Shirley's cooking that they invite her to cater a wedding back on their home world. It's just as terrific as the first book."
After the nice dinner, Shirley and Moe's visitors ask them to cater their sister's wedding , and serve those delicious meatballs. When they arrive on the planet Nextoo, a nervous Uncle Irving zaps them with his ray gun. After they wake up, and discover the zap has cured their arthritis, Shirley made so many meatballs in one day, that the entire planet attended the wedding, and enjoyed them.
5 stars Copyright 2018. Genre Science Fiction. Theme prejudice. A sequel to company's coming tells the story of an elderly couple who get invited to cater an alien wedding on mars. Would use this in the classroom along with other books that convey the message of not judging people by their appearance.
Still fun, although not quite up to the quality of Company's Coming. In some of the illustrations, Shirl looks slightly deranged. The story is somewhat more complicated as Moe and Shirl travel to Nextoo to cater the spacemen's sister's wedding.
It reads hilariously! I'd read it first without the kids to get the tone down, but when they get to the planet there's the most hilarious line used... "Well clip my toenails! I didn't know!" My kids (7, 5, and 2)made me read about 12 times and giggled hysterically ever.single.time.
I seriously have no sense of humor. I thought this book was silly but not in a good way. In some ways I guess I could see kids thinking it was cute, but I would still question that.