Picture Day Perfection

Its picture day, and the boy at the center of this charming picture book wants to make sure his picture is perfect. It seems as though everythings going wrong for him—he has bedhead, a stained shirt, and a big scowl on his face. But when he goes up for his picture, he thinks about his terrible appearance, and he smiles—because he secretly wants his picture to be the worst ever taken! But just as he smiles, the photo is snapped and his plan is ruined—the photo looks great.

Perfectly paired with the larger-than-life silliness of Dan Santats illustrations, this is sure to be a schoolroom favorite. It will come bound with a picture frame in the back so readers can add their own class photos to the book.

 

Praise for Picture Day Perfection

"A clever tale about a kid who wants this year to be his showcase for the perfect school picture."

--Kirkus Reviews

 

"Colorful yearbook-style endpapers are fun to pore over and even include a place to insert ones own picture, though this feature will be compromised by most library processing. This slapstick picture book will appeal most to school-age kids who will get the jokes peppered throughout the text and the visuals."

--School Library Journal

"Things could not be going more wrong for the narrator on school picture day, which starts with 'the worst case of bedhead ever' and a maple syrup accident, then culminates in some serious paint spattering during art class. What a disaster on the very day one is being captured for posterity — or is it? What if the boy is actually running a long con, and his idea of perfection is in fact a photo that captures 'my perfectly tangled hair, my perfectly rumpled shirt, my perfectly sticky face, my perfectly composed scowl'? Diesen (The Pout-Pout Fish) and Santat (The Three Ninja Pigs) are good-natured storytellers, and Santat's expertise in exaggeration is just what the premise ordered (as the camera prepares to flash, the boy becomes a dead ringer for the Grinch). While the narrator's personality never quite gels — either as sad sack or messy mastermind — Diesen and Santat unveil the narrator's secret at just the right moment, before unloading another twist that should trigger photo-worthy grins. Ages 4 — 8. Author's agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. Illustrator's agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deborah Diesen is the author of The Pout-Pout Fish, a New York Times bestseller and one of TIMEs top 10 childrens books of 2008. She lives in Michigan. Dan Santat is the illustrator of many books for children, including Kel Gilligans Daredevil Stunt Show. He lives in California.