Probuditi! by Chris Van Allsburg
PROBUDITI! by Chris Van Allsburg
Release Date:  10/30/06
Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin
Pages:  32
Rating:  5 Stars
Reviewed by:  
Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"


From the Coldecott Medal-winning author of such beloved
storybooks as JUMANJI and THE POLAR EXPRESS comes
another whimsical story in the form of PROBUDITI! With beautiful
illustrations and a premise that any child will love, this is another
storybook that's sure to please.

When Calvin receives two tickets to see Lomax the Magnificent,
a famous magician and hypnotist, for his birthday, he knows just
who he'll take with him--and it's not Trudy, his little sister.

With his best friend, Rodney, Calvin watches Lomax perform
some amazing magic, most memorable of which was hypnotizing
a woman in the audience and having her believe she was a
chicken. When the boys return home, they decide they'll make a
contraption to hypnotize someone--and who better to experiment
on than Trudy?

But when Trudy really starts acting like she's a dog and the boys
can't snap her out of it, Calvin starts to worry. And when things
don't go as planned and he misses out on his special birthday
dinner, the giggles he got from seeing his sister bark and walk
around on all fours turns into anger. Especially when he finds
out that hypnotism might not have been behind Trudy's dog act,
after all.

My kids loved this story. My son thought that hypnotizing his little
sister sounded like a great idea; my daughter felt that her big
brother missing out on his birthday cake was great payback.

Mr. Van Allsburg has written and illustrated another wonderful
storybook that kids of all ages are sure to enjoy. Kudos!