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Knuckleheads
From Handsel and Gretel nibbling on a house made of finger food to Handerella trying to win over the handsome Finger Prints, Knuckleheads is hands down fun! Earburt and Toeper give it two thumbs up! The combination of Joan Holub's pun-filled humor and Michael Slack's on-the-nose pictures make this a must-read for all ages.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2008
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About the author
Joan Holub
351 books1,235 followersNY Times bestselling children's book author:
GODDESS GIRLS series + HEROES IN TRAINING series (w Suzanne Williams); THIS LITTLE TRAILBLAZER a Girl Power Primer; ZERO THE HERO; I AM THE SHARK. Lucky to be doing what I love!
GODDESS GIRLS series + HEROES IN TRAINING series (w Suzanne Williams); THIS LITTLE TRAILBLAZER a Girl Power Primer; ZERO THE HERO; I AM THE SHARK. Lucky to be doing what I love!
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 9, 2008
Puns. Puns are hard. I think that it's safe to say that every adult has a kind of pun-limit. We can only take so many of them until we hit that limit and our groans turn from humored acknowledgments of cleverness to real moans of pain. Of course this limit is entirely reliant on the quality of the puns at hand, particularly when you're dealing with picture books. Now we turn our attention to Knuckleheads by Joan Holub, as illustrated by Michael Slack. As I read through the book I found my pun limit thwarted time and time again. The sheer weirdness of the concept combined with the four storylines . . . well, basically this is like nothing you've ever seen (let alone dreamed up) before. You can't deny it. If fairytales were performed entirely by sentient isolated body parts, this is certainly how their stories would go.
Four stories, all held together by a single green-skinned witch. Four stories, all based on famous fairy tales, in which the characters have been replaced with hands, feet, noses, thumbs, and other extreme extremities. In the first tale "Handsel and Gretel" two troublemakers outwit an evil witch. The witch is caught, but escapes into the next story "Handerella" where she masquerades as the little hand's evil stepmother. Instead of a beautiful gown, Handerella goes to the ball in an evening glove with a ring (toe-pazz?) and when she runs away in the night the prince ("Finger Prints") tries to find the lady in the kingdom that will fit the ring. Foiled once more the witch briefly participates in Thumbelina (it's a short tale, haha) and then becomes the evil queen in "Nose White". And even when this story finishes, however, she's bound for other tales like "Paul Bunion" and "The Adventures of Tom Thumb" to wreck havoc everywhere.
I would not have imagined the sheer amount of hand-based puns a single human brain is capable of producing. Mood rings, finger food, thumb wrestling, brass knuckles . . . basically if you can think of some kind of hand-based pun it's in here. After reading Handsel and Gretel I was convinced that Holub had done all she could, and maybe that was partly true. But about the time you come to the tale of "Handerella" and her evil foot-based stepsisters, that's when things go from merely weird to downright bizarre. Now the foot jokes come out as well (though there's certainly enough hand-based entertainment to go around too). And then when Snow White becomes Nose White... you get the picture. But somehow it actually works. I mean they're all pretty funny to read through and the stories hold together. For all its insane anarchistic look and feel, this is a competent series of fractured tales. Though obviously you'd have to hand it to a kid who already knew the stories already and would be able to get the jokes.
The sheer amount of details in this book visually are also staggering. In fact, I had to start wondering at some point whether or not illustrator Michael Slack gave any suggestions of his own on some of these details. I mean, did Holub come up with Nose White being sent into a grove of "palm trees" (oh heavens) or Slack? Did Slack come up with the image of the witch peering one side of the cover, showing up face-first on the back of the book? Did he have the foresight to come up with the hands using sign language to spell out the word "love" while Handerella's fingers do the same on top of her head? Whatever his contributions, Slack's art is completely computer generated, though you might not be aware of that fact at first. The look of the book is meant to conjure up images of classic fairy tale novels. Hence you get some pretty endpapers with a classic pattern on the front (interrupted by the characters at the back). After that, however, it's pretty raucous. I will say that even though the book has a hand-drawn look at times, people who are not fans of computer generated illustration would do best to steer clear of this puppy. It may be a little too smooth for their tastes.
The whole characters-as-body parts style is pretty touch and go (ho ho), however. There's a bit of inconsistency to it at times. For example, why does Handerella's stylized dog have three finger-like ears? Why will some characters have faces and others just have eyes on their fingers? Why can some hands be people while others, like the one-hand band, be five characters with each finger a person? And why am I even asking any of this? Honestly, I don't suppose it even matters. If you can swallow the logic that thumbs are capable of taking a turn about the room on their own little legs, the rest of Slack's crazy logic should suffice.
In my experience, kids deal with weird stuff in books with a lot more grace and appreciation than their adult contemporaries. Hand a kid Garmann's Summer for example, and they'll get into it. Hand that same book to an adult and watch them cringe. This book won't make any grown-ups quiver but it's certainly going to be interesting trying to sell it to them. "Okay it's fairy tales only they're more like fractured fairy tales and all the characters are body parts. With legs." Oh yeah. That's gonna go down like a dream with some of my more staid and unimaginative patrons. Basically this is going to appeal to fans of Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man both in terms of content and design. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Stinky Cheese Man was the original inspiration for the layout of this tale. Both stories break down the fourth wall with great frequency, and they've a similar feel in terms of bizarre content and twisted senses of humor. Clearly this is not going to be like anything else on your shelf, though. It's an amusing ride with a style and charm entirely of its own.
Ages 5-10.
Four stories, all held together by a single green-skinned witch. Four stories, all based on famous fairy tales, in which the characters have been replaced with hands, feet, noses, thumbs, and other extreme extremities. In the first tale "Handsel and Gretel" two troublemakers outwit an evil witch. The witch is caught, but escapes into the next story "Handerella" where she masquerades as the little hand's evil stepmother. Instead of a beautiful gown, Handerella goes to the ball in an evening glove with a ring (toe-pazz?) and when she runs away in the night the prince ("Finger Prints") tries to find the lady in the kingdom that will fit the ring. Foiled once more the witch briefly participates in Thumbelina (it's a short tale, haha) and then becomes the evil queen in "Nose White". And even when this story finishes, however, she's bound for other tales like "Paul Bunion" and "The Adventures of Tom Thumb" to wreck havoc everywhere.
I would not have imagined the sheer amount of hand-based puns a single human brain is capable of producing. Mood rings, finger food, thumb wrestling, brass knuckles . . . basically if you can think of some kind of hand-based pun it's in here. After reading Handsel and Gretel I was convinced that Holub had done all she could, and maybe that was partly true. But about the time you come to the tale of "Handerella" and her evil foot-based stepsisters, that's when things go from merely weird to downright bizarre. Now the foot jokes come out as well (though there's certainly enough hand-based entertainment to go around too). And then when Snow White becomes Nose White... you get the picture. But somehow it actually works. I mean they're all pretty funny to read through and the stories hold together. For all its insane anarchistic look and feel, this is a competent series of fractured tales. Though obviously you'd have to hand it to a kid who already knew the stories already and would be able to get the jokes.
The sheer amount of details in this book visually are also staggering. In fact, I had to start wondering at some point whether or not illustrator Michael Slack gave any suggestions of his own on some of these details. I mean, did Holub come up with Nose White being sent into a grove of "palm trees" (oh heavens) or Slack? Did Slack come up with the image of the witch peering one side of the cover, showing up face-first on the back of the book? Did he have the foresight to come up with the hands using sign language to spell out the word "love" while Handerella's fingers do the same on top of her head? Whatever his contributions, Slack's art is completely computer generated, though you might not be aware of that fact at first. The look of the book is meant to conjure up images of classic fairy tale novels. Hence you get some pretty endpapers with a classic pattern on the front (interrupted by the characters at the back). After that, however, it's pretty raucous. I will say that even though the book has a hand-drawn look at times, people who are not fans of computer generated illustration would do best to steer clear of this puppy. It may be a little too smooth for their tastes.
The whole characters-as-body parts style is pretty touch and go (ho ho), however. There's a bit of inconsistency to it at times. For example, why does Handerella's stylized dog have three finger-like ears? Why will some characters have faces and others just have eyes on their fingers? Why can some hands be people while others, like the one-hand band, be five characters with each finger a person? And why am I even asking any of this? Honestly, I don't suppose it even matters. If you can swallow the logic that thumbs are capable of taking a turn about the room on their own little legs, the rest of Slack's crazy logic should suffice.
In my experience, kids deal with weird stuff in books with a lot more grace and appreciation than their adult contemporaries. Hand a kid Garmann's Summer for example, and they'll get into it. Hand that same book to an adult and watch them cringe. This book won't make any grown-ups quiver but it's certainly going to be interesting trying to sell it to them. "Okay it's fairy tales only they're more like fractured fairy tales and all the characters are body parts. With legs." Oh yeah. That's gonna go down like a dream with some of my more staid and unimaginative patrons. Basically this is going to appeal to fans of Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man both in terms of content and design. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Stinky Cheese Man was the original inspiration for the layout of this tale. Both stories break down the fourth wall with great frequency, and they've a similar feel in terms of bizarre content and twisted senses of humor. Clearly this is not going to be like anything else on your shelf, though. It's an amusing ride with a style and charm entirely of its own.
Ages 5-10.
December 21, 2008
Lots of loverly puns! I mean really good BAD puns. I was won over. Clever and unique idea perfectly executed.
February 20, 2010
Oh, this book is funny. I love a good pun, and the word play in this crackerjack kids book is chock full of silliness and fun. And the jokes are not just in the text! The illustrations tell jokes too, and the diligent peruser of this book will find visually-based giggles on each page that he/she might have missed before.
Knuckleheads is a collection of fractured fairy tales that features hands(and fingers and noses and toes-es) as the stars of four fables that are linked by a evil green hand-Witch, who makes her way though the book as part of her escape from justice(she was caught red-handed, trying to roast Handsel and Gretel). The Witch, who makes her debut with a brass knuckle and a house made of finger foods, then shows up in a footed disguise in Handerella. After her plans are tripped up for matching one of the step sisters with the Prince(Finger Prints-ha!), she then makes a short appearance in Thumbelina, and then gets her diva on as the Queen in Nose White.
A bit of knowledge about the original fairy tales is helpful(my three year old was a bit lost with many of the jokes), so I would suggest this book for anyone over 5 years old. That said, my son DID think that the pictures were funny, and he liked the book overall, perhaps because I was reading it with my "funny book voice" and laughing at it myself. I am sure that comparisons to the The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and Squids Will Be Squids will be made with Knuckleheads, and deservedly so in the best possible way: these books(and their authors/illustrators) do not write down to children. They create unique and challenging books that are witty and silly and wonderfully fun to read. Knuckleheads stands alone in how thoroughly the joke is maintained throughout the read: I don't think that there is a hand pun that is left unheralded in this book. Part of the fun is wondering how another pun can be squeezed in to the story. And it can, dear reader, handily.
Knuckleheads is a collection of fractured fairy tales that features hands(and fingers and noses and toes-es) as the stars of four fables that are linked by a evil green hand-Witch, who makes her way though the book as part of her escape from justice(she was caught red-handed, trying to roast Handsel and Gretel). The Witch, who makes her debut with a brass knuckle and a house made of finger foods, then shows up in a footed disguise in Handerella. After her plans are tripped up for matching one of the step sisters with the Prince(Finger Prints-ha!), she then makes a short appearance in Thumbelina, and then gets her diva on as the Queen in Nose White.
A bit of knowledge about the original fairy tales is helpful(my three year old was a bit lost with many of the jokes), so I would suggest this book for anyone over 5 years old. That said, my son DID think that the pictures were funny, and he liked the book overall, perhaps because I was reading it with my "funny book voice" and laughing at it myself. I am sure that comparisons to the The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and Squids Will Be Squids will be made with Knuckleheads, and deservedly so in the best possible way: these books(and their authors/illustrators) do not write down to children. They create unique and challenging books that are witty and silly and wonderfully fun to read. Knuckleheads stands alone in how thoroughly the joke is maintained throughout the read: I don't think that there is a hand pun that is left unheralded in this book. Part of the fun is wondering how another pun can be squeezed in to the story. And it can, dear reader, handily.
April 1, 2010
Quite funny and very cute!
April 22, 2010
Very clever! The hands are the characters, as in, Handerella, the Hand-some prince, etc.
March 23, 2018
A twist to the classic fairy tale with plenty of puns. Like pop-corns, good idea at first but essentially is just salty hot-air. Puns can only go so far before it becomes ho-hum.
“He’s totally cute-icle”
“Thumbelina was short, and so is her story”
1 page. Nice to be succinct.
Nose White
“Take that snotty nose white into the forest and give her a punch in the schnozzz” ha!
Illustration is pop-corny too.
“He’s totally cute-icle”
“Thumbelina was short, and so is her story”
1 page. Nice to be succinct.
Nose White
“Take that snotty nose white into the forest and give her a punch in the schnozzz” ha!
Illustration is pop-corny too.
May 20, 2020
The illustrations in this book were amazing and the storyline was super funny
January 29, 2015
Knuckleheads is a postmodern picture book that starts with one story and jumps to several others. It starts with Handsel and Gretel where the characters are a left and right hand. Handsel and Gretel get sent away and they stumble across the witches house where she captures them and tries to eat them. The witch gets caught and escapes by becoming apart of several other traditional fairy tales. The witch goes into stories such as Cinderella, Thumbelina, and Snow White. However, the titles in this book are different. The names and characters are all parts of the body, for example the names of the fairy tales in this book are Handerella and Nose White.
I really enjoyed looking at all the different pictures because each character was different but in a unique way. The characters had hands, feet, a thumb, or even a nose as their head. There were phrases and puns that would go along with the pictures. Some characters said them to each other. In beginning, when the police caught the witch they said she was, “red handed.” In the picture she was wearing a red oven mitt. For Handerella, she had evil step sisters that had feet for heads. In one of their pictures there was a sign that said “3 easy rules to be an Evil Step Sister,” then each rule had “step” at the beginning of it.
Overall, I really enjoyed the illustrations the most. The writing of all the puns and phrases were very clever. I think that it is a great book for anyone to read. However, there was no specific plot or ending to the story. The witch would become the bad character in every story book, and when the story was over she would move on. The tone and mood of the book were comical and playful throughout the whole story. This book is great to read if you want a good laugh, because most of the dialogue and passages are very witty.
I really enjoyed looking at all the different pictures because each character was different but in a unique way. The characters had hands, feet, a thumb, or even a nose as their head. There were phrases and puns that would go along with the pictures. Some characters said them to each other. In beginning, when the police caught the witch they said she was, “red handed.” In the picture she was wearing a red oven mitt. For Handerella, she had evil step sisters that had feet for heads. In one of their pictures there was a sign that said “3 easy rules to be an Evil Step Sister,” then each rule had “step” at the beginning of it.
Overall, I really enjoyed the illustrations the most. The writing of all the puns and phrases were very clever. I think that it is a great book for anyone to read. However, there was no specific plot or ending to the story. The witch would become the bad character in every story book, and when the story was over she would move on. The tone and mood of the book were comical and playful throughout the whole story. This book is great to read if you want a good laugh, because most of the dialogue and passages are very witty.
February 2, 2015
First off, my rating is probably a bit biased, because I am a sucker for cheesy puns. But I can't help but adore this book. Knuckleheads is a series of four fairly well-known tales: Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Thumbelina, and Snow White. They are the perfect examples of a fractured fairytale as they stay pretty parallel to the original but are all related with hands, feet and nose references, making the stories "Hand"sel and Gretel, "Hand"erella, "Thumb"elina (I think that was more out of convenience) and "Nose" White. In these twists of classic tales, we follow the normal tales but they become imbedded with fun limb-related puns.
I think Joan Holub does a great job of creating a read that is intriguing and silly for kids, while also introducing them to well known stories and classic tales. The idea of making the entire storybook themed with characters shaped as hands and feet takes the opportunity to show children unique literary elements that can make reading fun and clever. This book then sets a spunky mood for the readers that makes the story enjoyable and playful at all times.
Additionally, the illustrations are great in not being overbearing, but nicely complimenting to the storyline. The pictures were a perfect mix of looking like actual characters but resembling whatever they were supposed to look like, whether it be a hand, foot, or nose. The illustration added visuals to the story that only promoted the puns further and gave an interesting take on the stories, for example, when Handerella runs away form the ball, her evening glove dress turns into a rubber dishwashing glove.
I think Joan Holub does a great job of creating a read that is intriguing and silly for kids, while also introducing them to well known stories and classic tales. The idea of making the entire storybook themed with characters shaped as hands and feet takes the opportunity to show children unique literary elements that can make reading fun and clever. This book then sets a spunky mood for the readers that makes the story enjoyable and playful at all times.
Additionally, the illustrations are great in not being overbearing, but nicely complimenting to the storyline. The pictures were a perfect mix of looking like actual characters but resembling whatever they were supposed to look like, whether it be a hand, foot, or nose. The illustration added visuals to the story that only promoted the puns further and gave an interesting take on the stories, for example, when Handerella runs away form the ball, her evening glove dress turns into a rubber dishwashing glove.
January 31, 2015
Knuckleheads by Joan Holub is definitely not your run of the mill children's book. This fractured, post-modern fairy tale is interesting in the sense that it carries a darker tone from normal children's books. The characters are a little creepy, but they are playful and fun. They can rub kids the wrong way if they are sensitive.
One thing I loved about this book was that it uses puns for humor. I love puns! All of the classic fairy tale characters have been adapted into personified body parts, so things like Handerella and her ball-glove are hilarious to me. I thought that the cleverness of the book was superb because of how many different puns Holub was able to create.
The mood of the book is definitely dark and gloomy. We see this witch appear in all of the stories and she bring with her a sense of gloom and evil. The appearance of the witch leads me to the one thing I did not like about the book. I did not like how abruptly it ended and basically said you had to wait for the next book to find out what happens. It had not trail off at all, it just ended.
One thing I loved about this book was that it uses puns for humor. I love puns! All of the classic fairy tale characters have been adapted into personified body parts, so things like Handerella and her ball-glove are hilarious to me. I thought that the cleverness of the book was superb because of how many different puns Holub was able to create.
The mood of the book is definitely dark and gloomy. We see this witch appear in all of the stories and she bring with her a sense of gloom and evil. The appearance of the witch leads me to the one thing I did not like about the book. I did not like how abruptly it ended and basically said you had to wait for the next book to find out what happens. It had not trail off at all, it just ended.
March 31, 2011
I really didnt like this book however it may be very interesting to children. It involved toenils and feet that some children may love to read about. This book was a twist on classic stories such as hansel and gretal and cinderella. I would place this book in my safe place. It would be a great boook that would help those students who are mad.
February 29, 2012
This book by Joan Holub is a re-telling of four different classic fairy tales. The characters all have weird body parts for heads; some characters are hands, some are feet, some are thumbs, and some are noses. This book is rife with corny body part puns that make this a very enjoyable read. Kids who know the fairy tales of Cinderella and others will laugh at this strange and different collection.
January 23, 2009
This picture-book is quite funny I laughed hard while reading it. Apparently there's quite many phrases in English that use or relate to foot, hands, fingers, and other body parts. And lots of puns - especially ones with the characters' names - that will definitely make you smile.
April 16, 2011
4 fairytales where the characters are represented as random body parts. Full of puns and very funny. Great for all ages as I think kids would really enou the illustrations and the silliness. Great for creative writing, teaching puns, and alternative fairy tales. K-5
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August 5, 2009Wasn't too impressed with this one.
August 6, 2014
Cute illustrations, especially Handsel and Gretel.
June 3, 2011
Loved this one! It's a postmodern book so it pokes fun at itself. Witty use of words and the illustrations tell a story of their own. Would be great for boys.
August 2, 2012
Witty twists to Hansel and Gretal, Thumbelina, Cinderella, and Snow White.
October 26, 2014
Bizarre book of bad puns.
January 17, 2013
Twist on fairytales. Fun, silly - all about the hand.
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