The Tweedles Go Electric (Hardback)

Monica Kulling (author), Marie Lafrance (author)

£12.99

Hardback 32 Pages / Published: 13/03/2014

Publisher out of stock

Currently unavailable to order

Synopsis

Meet the Tweedles: Papa, Mama, daughter Frances and her brother, Francis. It's the dawn of a new century-the twentieth century!-and the Tweedles have decided to buy a car. But no gas-guzzler for this modern family. Only an electric car will do for them. Frances is the only member of her eccentric family who is not delighted when Papa decides they need an electric car. She would rather read a book. Frances knows that cars go fast, which can only lead to trouble. She is even less impressed when the family takes possession of the car and faces ridicule from more conventional citizens with their noisy, dirty, gas-fueled machines. But when Mr. Hamm is unable to get to the hospital because his car has run out of gas, Frances saves the day-and falls in love with automobile travel at the same time. With humorous allusions to the twenty-first century-which is better? Gas or electric?-The Tweedles Go Electric is a charming picture book about an odd and endearing family and their attempts to keep up with the times.

Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd ,Canada
ISBN: 9781554981670
Number of pages: 32
Weight: 383 g
Dimensions: 254 x 222 mm

MEDIA REVIEWS

"'Not too fast, Papa,' warns Mama. 'Remember Frances' nose.'
'Which one?' asks Papa.
'She only has the one nose, dear,' replies Mama.
'I meant which Frances,' says Papa. He swerves to avoid a horse and cart."
from the book
Finalist for the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award

"Though Lafrance outfits her figures in period dress and decks out street scenes with antique cars and bicycles, plus an occasional horse-drawn cart, modern readers will have no trouble at all making the connection with this century's version of the issue. Not to mention the benefits of being both green and smart. A fine joke, well-delivered, and as clever as it is timely." Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Kulling . . . uses a deadpan narrative to playfully allude to 21st-century 'green' technology while introducing an idiosyncratic family that would be right at home in a Wes Anderson movie." Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[F]illed with playful language, quirky humor, and contemporary allusions. . . . The graphite-on-paper and mixed-media-collage illustrations are dynamic and engaging and provide a fun look at life at the turn of the 20th century." School Library Journal

"Kulling tells a jaunty and enthusiastic story that's helped along by Lafrance's loopy illustrations in warm earth tones and stylized figures." Booklist

"This charming portrayal of the eccentric, unselfconscious Tweedles winks at its audience through both its sly text and playful pictures, where Lafrance's graphite and mixed-media drawings in a fitting palette of greens and yellows capture the family's quaint but rapidly expanding world." Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books