Look Out, It's April Fools' Day

by Frank Modell

Marvin loves to play April Fools' tricks on Milton, but Milton cannot be fooled

Genres: Picture Books, Holiday

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This year, Milton vows that his friend Marvin will NOT fool him on April first.

I've always liked Modell's simple, cartoony style, but there's not much of a story here.

[Ina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvin and Milton have been friends for a very long time so when Marvin plays jokes on April Fools' Day, Milton just won't fall for any of them. Marvin shows great imagination, such as trying to get Milton to look at two big green chickens (trees shaped like giant chickens) and a flying rabbit (a cloud) which my story time audience enjoyed. The illustrations are filled with humor and the text is simple and reads well. Each tries to fool the other in the end…and the joke is, well, on both of them.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Marvin is trying to play jokes on Milton all of April Fool's day, but Milton is not going to be fooled this year. The entirity of the book Marvin is trying to fool Milton, but he won't pay attention. At the end, Marvin and Milton try to fool each other by saying that their shoes were untied, not knowing that they indeed weren't tied.
This wasn't my favorite book. The illustrations weren't really engaging and the story was lacking that same engagement. It was a very static book and very repetitive.
Could not be used in a classroom.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A child attempts to repeatedly trick his friend as they take a stroll on April Fools' Day, but the friend is having none of it. There aren't many picture books for April Fools', so this simple read-aloud might be welcome.

[z.diddy · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was okay.

[Sharonta Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for April Fools' day which is very important to elementary aged kid's. this will show that you understand that this holiday important to them but it is still a school day.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a book about two friends, Marvin and Milton, who love to play April Fool’s Jokes on one another. It would just be a fun read for students on April Fool’s Day.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marvin wants to play a joke on Milton on the day of all joke-playing days: April Fool. But Milton is on to Marvin and doesn't fall for any of his tricks.

Kooky illustrations.

[Madison Heusel]

Summary:
Marvin and Milton are two friends and Marvin is the one who always loved to play tricks on Milton. When April Fool's Day came around, Milton refused to play along. Marvin would try to get Milton to look up at the sky and tell him to that there was an airplane. Marvin refused to play along. He didn't want to be tricked on April Fool's Day because he said he plays the same jokes on him every year. On an on Marvin tried to trick Milton. At the very end, they both said "look your shoes untied". They both looked, and sure enough both of their shoes were untied. They were even.

My Thoughts:
The illustrations were very poor in my opinion. The entire premise of the book was kind of relatable, because April Fool's Day can get really intense for some people. I think younger students would enjoy this book because it would make them want to play pranks on each other. It wasn't my favorite book to read, but it wasn't terrible. I think it could have been more interesting if his pranks had been better and more elaborate.

Classroom Usage:
I would have the students do a writing activity about what kind of April Fool's prank they would play and on whom. This assignment would be done before April 1st, so that they could come back to class and report if they had actually gone through with their prank.