Oliver

by Judith Rossell, Judith Rossell (Illustrator)

Overview

"How do planes fly?"

"How does our fridge work?"

"Can I breathe underwater like a fish?"

Oliver is a curious explorer, so he asks a lot of questions.

Then, one day in the bathtub, he hears a strange gurgle. "What lives down the drain?" he wonders. Soon Oliver is headed down the drain in his homemade submarine on a spectacular mission. But will this clever inventor be able to discover a way back?

In this imaginative and funny adventure story, Judith Rossell introduces a lovable little hero whose curiosity leads him to extraordinary places.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062022103
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/08/2012
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Judith Rossell studied textile design in Scotland and worked for a cotton spinning company before finding her true calling as a full-time illustrator. Judith rendered the scenes where Oliver is at home in pencil and watercolor. Then she used collage and colored crayon to create a mixture of Oliver's own artwork and various things from his life, such as the broccoli trees. Bits of graph paper and bits of brown paper were used to resemble the parts of the cardboard box for his submarine. Oliver was inspired by Judith's brother's little boy, who is into everything and, according to Judith, is just exactly the way her brother used to be when he was little. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Judith Rossell studied textile design in Scotland and worked for a cotton spinning company before finding her true calling as a full-time illustrator. Judith rendered the scenes where Oliver is at home in pencil and watercolor. Then she used collage and colored crayon to create a mixture of Oliver's own artwork and various things from his life, such as the broccoli trees. Bits of graph paper and bits of brown paper were used to resemble the parts of the cardboard box for his submarine. Oliver was inspired by Judith's brother's little boy, who is into everything and, according to Judith, is just exactly the way her brother used to be when he was little. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Editorial Reviews

Rossell (Merry Christmas, Mr. Snowman) offers a neat story about possibility and impossibility, freedom and constraints starring a boy named Oliver who is full of questions. “How do planes stay up in the sky?” he asks his mother. “Could a penguin live in our fridge?” “What lives down the drain?” Even though Mom is never shown on page, the sometimes- frazzled nature of their loving relationship is apparent—she answers one of Oliver’s questions “with her mouth full of clothespins,” and when Oliver complains that he’s not tired at naptime, Mom replies, “I am.... You do something quiet.” Oliver makes a cardboard box submarine and investigates what’s down the bathtub drain, arriving in the ocean where he meets a cruise ship filled with penguins on vacation. Life with the penguins is a blast (“We stay up all night,” says one, and they use jet packs to fly), but eventually Oliver is ready to return home. Elements of real life (broccoli, cardboard, drawing paper) work their way into Oliver’s fantasies in Rossell’s mixed-media artwork, emphasizing Oliver’s imagination and boundless curiosity at work. Ages 3–7. (May)

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 3—Oliver asks many questions: How do planes stay up in the sky; can penguins live in our fridge? And he especially wants to know what is down the tub drain—he can hear something gurgling. So Oliver makes a cardboard submarine and dives down the drain. There he finds a large ship filled with vacationing penguins who slurp their drinks and fly around whenever they want. Wait—penguins can't fly—funless, of course, they have jet packs. Oliver's imaginary adventures finally take him back home where he decides to build a jet pack. The comical pictures, done in ink, watercolor, and pastels, enhance this amusing story of a young boy with a gift for imaginary escape and unquenchable curiosity. Oliver is a quirky but charming little handful. He is also inquisitive and a role model for children who have lost enthusiasm for learning and who have sleepy imaginations. This picture book would be a great addition to most collections, and it would pair well with other titles that stimulate curiosity, such as Michael Hall's Perfect Square (HarperCollins, 2011), Peter Brown's The Curious Garden (Little, Brown, 2009), or Alice McLarren's Roxaboxen (HarperCollins, 1991).—Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Union, Washington & Waldoboro, ME

School Library Journal

Young Oliver goes down the drain, literally… maybe. Oliver is a curious soul. He has questions for his mother. If penguins were on vacation, for instance, would they come to stay in his refrigerator? And what, pray tell, lives down the drain and gurgles? "I think it's HUNGRY," Oliver suggests. Then he suggests that they feed a banana to whatever it is. "I'm going to poke it down the drain." Mother: "No, you're not." So Oliver builds a submarine and takes it for a ride to see just what the drain is harboring. Here Oliver turns into a kid's drawing, though handsomely rendered, as is Rossell's whole book, in watercolor and pencil, with a touch of collage elsewhere; maybe this is all in his head? And what's down the drain? Penguins, of course. Rossell handles the pacing beautifully, with each new character stage-managed to perfection. The characters themselves are utterly winning. They don't play to the audience but go about their business with comedic insouciance. And the story does a nice, full circle--when the penguins enter the picture, it's like having W.C. Fields arrive at your house--though in such a merry, leisurely way it feels serendipitous. Next time your child asks to shove a banana down the drain, go for it. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews