Alphonse, There's Mud on the Ceiling!

by Daisy Hirst, Daisy Hirst (Illustrator)

Overview

Lovably rambunctious monster siblings Natalie and Alphonse are excited to go camping in the wilds of nature — without leaving their apartment.

Most of the time, Natalie and Alphonse like living in an apartment on the seventh floor. They have bunk beds to drive, a big green chair to hide behind and yell “Raaaar!,” sunflowers on the balcony to water, and almost enough hallway space for tumbling. But when they pretend to be wiggly worms crawling across the jungle . . . SHFLWUMP! Ow! That is not a good game for indoors! How can they explore the joys of nature in the middle of the city? In a playful ode to cooperation and imagination, award-winning picture-book creator Daisy Hirst presents a third adventure starring two relatable — and resourceful — siblings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536211177
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/16/2020
Series:	Natalie and Alphonse
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.25(w) x 10.56(h) x 0.39(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Daisy Hirst is the author-illustrator of two previous books about Natalie and Alphonse — Alphonse, That Is Not OK to Do! and I Do Not Like Books Anymore! — as well as The Girl with the Parrot on Her Head and Hilda and the Runaway Baby. She lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

Bold, bright colors against white space depict the familiarly fiendish family's third installment in a very familiar scenario, one that offers gentle guidance to caregivers as well as affirmation and inspiration to children. Imaginative play leads to inventive solutions in this sweet sibling tale.
—Kirkus Reviews

The story speaks specifically to the creativity of city children in their pursuit of interactions with nature, and the economy of language is impressive. There is a lot of plot and story squeezed into this picture book. And may we all just celebrate the gorgeous and perfect fact that Natalie finds a wild squirrel and names it Squilliam? Delightful.
—Booklist

From the Publisher

05/01/2020

Toddler-PreS—This sweet story explores creative play between two monster siblings. Alphonse and Natalie, reminiscent of UglyDolls, live in an apartment. One day they find sleeping bags in the closet, a discovery that leads to pretend play about camping. Eventually, they go to the park and then end up spending an evening in a homemade tent on the balcony. The screen-printed illustrations are big and bold. Natalie is red with googly eyes and fluffy ears, while Alphonse is smaller, blue, and blobby with visible teeth and bunny ears. Hirst makes excellent use of her space, using spot art to create movement on white pages, and adding in full-bleed spreads to move the story along. The concise text has a childlike look and feel to it and would work well as a read-aloud. The story feels like a peek into a day of childhood play and thought, which is also where it falters. It lacks some transitions, and periodically lacks internal logic. Adult onlookers will need to warn about the safety of climbing inside a blackberry bush in the park and eating said blackberries. VERDICT This is an appealing additional title.—Amy Lilien-Harper, Wilton Lib., CT

School Library Journal

2020-02-09
Alphonse and Natalie, the lovable, active preschool monster siblings from Alphonse, That Is Not OK To Do! (2016) and I Do Not Like Books Anymore!(2018), are back with a way to enjoy nature and the outdoors from their seventh-floor apartment.

Playing indoors can be fun for the children if they use their imagination. They can drive their bunk bed, tumble in the hallway, and hide behind the big green chair and then leap out with a “Raaaar!” But when they play wiggly worms all over the small apartment and start to bump and upset things like Dad’s coffee, then: “NATALIEALPHONSE, that is not a good game for indoors!” The kids begin to bemoan the fact that, unlike their friend Elfrida, who has a backyard with a tent for sleeping, they have no backyard space, and so Natalie declares, “I’m going to live in the park.” Ever patient and supportive Dad agrees, and they all go out to “have an expedition.” After exploring and living under a bush for a while, they collect some sticks and head back to the apartment, with sticks to build a tent on the balcony. Bold, bright colors against white space depict the familiarly fiendish family’s third installment in a very familiar scenario, one that offers gentle guidance to caregivers as well as affirmation and inspiration to children.

Imaginative play leads to inventive solutions in this sweet sibling tale. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews