Stuck

Oliver Jeffers is one of the superstars of picture books, and every time a new one of his books come out, fans young and old get excited. I count myself among the legions of people who would probably mob OIiver in the street, since his books are, without fail, wonderful.

Stuck is his latest offering, and I can honestly say I think it’s one of his best. All of his books contain strange situations that are often laugh-out-loud funny, but my first reading of Stuck really had me in stitches. It all starts when Floyd’s kite gets stuck in a tree. To get it down, he tries throwing his shoe at it. When the shoe gets stuck, he tries throwing his other shoe at it. That gets stuck too. And so begins a snowball effect of bigger and bigger objects (not all of them inanimate), all of which get stuck.

The comedic timing in this book is just superb, and I can see lots of laughter during read-alouds as young readers try to guess exactly what Floyd will try next. This is a wonderfully absurd book which should be read by everyone, everywhere.