The Toy Brother

by William Steig

Overview

Yorick Bede has always considered his younger brother Charles a first-rate pain in the pants, and Charles thinks the same of Yorick. One day Yorick plays with his alchemist father's potions, and he accidentally shrinks himself to the size of a cockroach. Now suddenly Charles is the big brother. Though it's tempting to leave Yorick as a shrunken version of himself to teach him a lesson, Charles and the rest of the Bede family protect Yorick and tinker with more and more potions until they find the right one to bring back him back to his normal size.

The Toy Brother is another delightful picture book tale from William Steig.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250057600
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	05/03/2016
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

William Steig (1907-2003) was a cartoonist, illustrator and author of award-winning books for children, including Shrek!, on which the DreamWorks movies are based. In 1930, Steig's work began appearing in The New Yorker, where his drawings have been a popular fixture ever since. He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968. In 1970, Steig received the Caldecott Medal for Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. His books for children also include Dominic; The Real Thief; The Amazing Bone, a Caldecott Honor Book; Amos & Boris, a National Book Award finalist; and Abel's Island and Doctor De Soto, both Newbery Honor Books. He died in Boston at the age of 95.

Editorial Reviews

The prolific Steig keeps the Dark Ages light with his penchant for non sequiturs and colorful if challenging words (such as "alackaday" and "transmogrification"). Watercolors of chunky wooden furniture, heavy eating utensils and knee-length tunics set the tone for this costume comedy.” —Publishers Weekly

“Steig's amusing drawings and bright watercolor washes are rich in detail and his cartoon style is further enlivened by bright purple borders on each page. Readers will delight in Steig's droll expressions, both visual and verbal, but the subtle lesson about brotherly love will not be lost amid the comic goings-on.” —School Library Journal

“Steig embellishes his always rich vocabulary with medieval words to delightful effect and decorates his artwork with rich hues and purple borders.” —Booklist

“... another satisfying tale that is also a gentle vehicle for helping children to understand a range of sometimes subtle psychological and ethical issues.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Sure to be adored by all younger siblings.” —Parent's Choice

“Not at all didactic, this is a clever, amusing story.” —Children's Literature

From the Publisher

Gr 1-3-Magnus and Eutilda Bede and their two children are an everyday, run-of-the-mill medieval family. Mr. Bede is an alchemist and Yorick, his older son, aspires to follow in his footsteps. When he isn't being pestered by Charles, Yorick dreams of turning donkey dung into gold and working other marvelous transformations. While Mr. and Mrs. Bede journey to a faraway wedding, the boy takes advantage of the opportunity to try out a magic formula. His potion does not have quite the effect he expects, however, and he ends up the size of a sausage. Charles is delighted. He makes his brother a little house, feeds him crumbs of bread and clabber cheese, and wishes he would fit in his pocket forever. The older boy is anxious to return to his normal size, but only does so when he finally remembers a missing ingredient in the magic potion. After all their trials, the two siblings view one another with a new affection. Steig's amusing drawings and bright watercolor washes are rich in detail and his cartoon style is further enlivened by bright purple borders on each page. Readers will delight in Steig's droll expressions, both visual and verbal, but the subtle lesson about brotherly love will not be lost amid the comic goings-on.Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY

School Library Journal