Our Kid

Our Kid is strange and funny. I think my big brother loved it even more than I did because he likes unusual words so much. The famous illustrator Tony Ross wrote this picture book full of made-up words and crazy adventures. The hero is a goat kid named only “Our Kid.” He gets in big trouble at school for coming in late, so he tells a weird story about a submarine full of fish and dinopirates and an elephant, and gets in more trouble. The teacher puts Our Kid in the naughty corner for talking “total and utter nonsense.” After aliens visit the school, it turns out that Our Kid was telling the truth after all, and then he gets to go home early.

Silly words like “dunkle,” “squiddly,” “kerlumped,” remind me of stories by Roald Dahl; it’s pretty fun to guess what they mean. Our Kid’s crazy adventures make me think of some Dr. Seuss books where the kids decide not to tell their parents what happened. The illustrations are wobbly-looking but still really good and show the characters’ feelings. We all laughed reading this. I would give it seven stars if I could!