Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-This-World Moon Pie Adventure

by Tony DiTerlizzi Narrated by L. J. Ganser

Overview

One hungry Tuesday afternoon Jimmy Zangwow's stomach rumbles. He just has to have some milk and a chocolaty Moon Pie. But his mother says, "Of course not", and sends him outside to play. In the backyard, Jimmy climbs aboard the secret project he has been building - a junk jumbilee jalopy. It shakes and rattles, then rockets straight up. Suddenly Jimmy is high above the earth, flying toward the great Moon Pie maker. Maybe the slumbering moon will wake up and give him a tasty treat. A youngster at heart, Tony DiTerlizzi creates this kid-pleasing tale, complete with Mars Men and "out-of-this-world adventure." Narrator L.J. Ganser holds young readers captive while he answers the question: How far will Jimmy go to get his favorite snack?

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This delightful romp follows red-haired, freckle-faced, goggle-wearing Jimmy Zangwow, budding inventor and adventurer, on a passionate search for his favorite treat, which his mother forbids him to eat before dinner. DiTerlizzi gets the details just right in his debut book. Framed in a white border, the opening illustrations evoke advertisements from the '50s, complete with Jimmy's mother standing on the checkered linoleum kitchen floor in dress, apron and bedroom slippers, fixing dinner, glass milk bottles on the counter beside her. No sooner does the disgruntled Jimmy board his "junk jumbilee jalopy" and say "I wish I could go to the moon and get my own Moon Pies" than the machine rockets off the ground. The illustrations then become full-spread chronicles of the hero's travels (various continents are labeled below, and the equator is clearly visible). First he visits Mr. Moon (a crescent-shaped fellow depicted as a giant visage, sporting spectacles, a star-spangled nightcap and green crater-capped pajamas) and acquires 1,000 Moon Pies; next the Milky Way in search of milk; then Mars, where he encounters Mars Men and the fearsome Grimble Grinder. Jimmy discovers his love of Moon Pies is universal; he makes a number of extraterrestrial friends and saves the day by giving away every one of his treats. His friends then combine their efforts to send him back just in time for dinner and that special dessert. Children will see the galaxy in a whole new light after this wild flight. Ages 5-8. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Kirkus Reviews

A lad's quest for a classic snack takes him to distant corners of the universe in this retro-flavored, roller coaster picture book debut. When Mom rejects his plea for a moon pie, Jimmy soars off into space in his homemade race car/rocket ship, taking on a thousand moon pies from the Man in the Moon, dipping gallons of milk from the Milky Way, then reluctantly but gamely sharing it all, after a crash landing, with 999 hungry Martians and a peckish monster with a loudly rumbling tummy. In red cowboy boots and aviator goggles, sporting freckles and a gap toothed grin, Jimmy looks like a living Howdy Doody, with his jalopy, made from crates and buggy wheels, the Martians, who look like tops with bright blue heads, and other features of his elaborately detailed surroundings of like vintage. In the end, Martians and monster repay Jimmy's generosity by constructing a moon pie wrapper balloon that floats him home in time for dinner (Brussels-sprout-noodle-bean casserole) and, (yes!) guess what for dessert. DiTerlizzi pays visual homage to a gallery of illustrators from Arthur Rackham to Mercer Mayer, and gives his intrepid protagonist an infectious look of wide-eyed excitement. Tempt fans of David Wiesner's Sector 7 (1999) and William Joyce's books with this high-flying, lip-smacking adventure. (Picture book. 7-9)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170834297
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	05/04/2012
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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