The Truth About My Unbelievable School …
Davide Cali and Benjamin Chaud
Chronicle Books
Henry returns in a new story, and on this occasion he’s charged with taking a new classmate on a tour around school. If you’ve met Henry previously, you’ll already know that he’s more than a little inclined to exaggerate. Here though he’s up to something different: “… there really isn’t much to see …” he tells the girl as he shows her the class pet – a gigantic jellyfish. She appears singularly unimpressed, as she does at the sight of the music teacher,
the art class in progress and the maths lesson.
Not even the long tentacles escaping from a part closed door, the short cut to the playground …
or the flying mashed potatoes in the cafeteria cause her to bat an eyelid.
After a few more stops including a Smaug-like den and the principal’s office (reached by rowing boat),
the two arrive back at their classroom just as their teacher is bidding the class farewell. Perfect timing. And then we get a wonderful surprise ending.
(Observant readers may well have noticed the odd clue as to what’s coming already, as well as enjoying the various literary allusions scattered throughout in Chaud’s wryly funny illustrations.)
Keep an eye on Henry’s dog: the animal seems to have muscled its way into the action and is sure to make readers smile.
Delicious fun and another likely winner for Cali and Chaud.
