Green Wilma ANNOTATION
Waking up with a frog-like appearance, Wilma proves disruptive at school as she searches for some tasty flies.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Wilma's parents don't know quite what to do when their daughter wakes up green and requests bugs for breakfast. At school, Wilma's teachers are appalled by her unusually colorful antics. Wherever Wilma goes, surprises await her-and readers of this irresistibly funny fable. Absurd and action-packed. -The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
There's something decidedly odd about Wilma: at breakfast, her parents are startled by their offspring's request to ``Pass the bugs''; later, she shocks her teacher by snagging a ``tasty little fly'' with her long pink tongue. Most noticeably, however, Wilma's skin has turned a deep, froggy green, a fact that her polka-dot T-shirt and beribboned blond hair cannot conceal. In this strange and gleeful story, it's surprisingly easy being green--the extraordinary heroine is the envy of her elementary-school class. Arnold's rhyming text is as buoyant as his leaf-colored, rubbery-limbed protagonist; his roly-poly, bug-eyed characters perfectly suit the story's quirky theme and manic action. Squiggly, threadlike lines--suggestive of handmade paper--cover every surface in the richly colored illustrations, subtly adding an unusual softness and depth. Though some youngsters may be puzzled by the book's conclusion, this gifted picture book creator ( No Jumping on the Bed! ; The Signpainter's Assistant ) has taken his talents in a quirky, unconventional direction with this tale, which takes daydreaming to new and zany heights. Ages 4-8. A Children's BOMC selection. (Mar.)
Children's Literature - Deborah Zink Roffino
Easy rhymes hop right of the tongue to tell this hilarious tale of young Wilma who wakes up one fine morn to find she's a lovely shade of lime green and she's got a taste for flies. She leaps from beneath her comfy quilt to start her day. The family and the school have a pretty rough time adjusting until Wilma is able to get back into the swim of things. A fresh surprise on every page; silly characters with ping-pong ball eyes will entertain to the unexpected finish.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-- When little Wilma awakens one morning, she discovers that she has turned green and developed a fondness for eating flies. Her horrified parents don't know how to deal with her, so she hops to school. There she demonstrates her dodgeball skills, but gets in trouble after flicking her tongue on the teacher's nose and chasing flies through the lunchroom. Of course the adventure turns out to be a dream--but the dreamer, as it turns out, is a frog, not a girl. Arnold's breezy humor shines through in the illustrations, especially in his goggle-eyed people who must be the stuff of amphibian nightmares. The rhymed narration is adequate, but the amusing tale's success derives from the unexpected twist and the slapstick comedy embodied in the pictures. --Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN
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