Product Description

He's smart.
He's swift.
He's small.
The heroic George is back!

William Joyce, the creator and many best-selling and award-winning picture books, including Dinosaur Bob, Santa Calls, and Rolie Polie Olie, presents a new deluxe edition of George shrinks. Now an animated Saturday-morning program on PBS, the classic picture book that started it all will charm readers of all sizes.

Undaunted at finding that he’s shrunk to the size of a mouse, George starts in on his household duties, from brushing his teeth to taking out the garbage and looking after his baby brother—all Herculean tasks for this tiny guy in an oversized world. ‘Paintings with realistic detail and perspective show a mouse-eye view of what high adventure boring chores become. Parents will root along with their kids for this unflappable Tom Thumb.’ —SLJ.

Best Books of 1985 (SLJ)
A Reading Rainbow Selection
100 Favorite Paperbacks of 1989 (IRA/CBC)

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #553678 in Books
• Published on: 1985-10-02
• Released on: 1985-10-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060230708
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Illustrations in full, wild colors suit the frantic doings in Joyce's debut, a fast and funny tale. When George wakes up one morning, he realizes that his dream has come true. George has dwindled. He's smaller than his toy soldiers, half the size of his baby brother. But he's still the responsible boy his parents trust to obey orders they have left in a note beside his bed. And so a whirligig of merriment jets off with the minute lad minding the baby (George harnesses him to a wagon to haul out the garbage) and taking care of other chores. To feed the goldfish, George dons a diving helmet. To wash the dishes, he converts a sponge into "skis" and hurtles down plates in the sink with spoons as poles. The strange day ends with a final surprise for the little big brother and his delighted readers.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2 In his parents' absence, George dreams that he's small, and he awakens to find himself about three inches high. The understated text (largely the words of a note left to remind George to make his bed, brush his teeth, take out the garbage, etc.) is counterpointed by paintings with realistic detail in cartoon colors andoutstandinglyby their perspective: a mouse-eye view of the high adventure such boring chores become under the unusual circumstances. George's high-handed treatment of a malevolent cat, and the cat's near-revenge (thwarted when the shock-headed hero, under the bedcovers, pops back to normal size just in time for Mom and Dad's return) provides a little narrative line for the fun and excitement. Some witty touches and '50s nostalgia should please parents, who will root along with their kids for this updated and unflappable Tom Thumb. Treehorn, move over! Patricia Dooley, formerly at Drexel University, Phila .
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
William Joyce is the author and illustrator of many best-selling and award-winning picture books, including Rolie Polie Olie, Snowie Rolie, Dinosaur Bob, Santa Calls, and George Shrinks. He is also the creator of the Emmy Award-winning series Rolie Polie Olie on the Disney Channel. William Joyce lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, with his lovely wife, Elizabeth, and their children, Jack and Mary Katherine. They also have a dachshund named Rose.

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Customer Reviews

Wonderful Book!
"George Shrinks" is one of my favorite children's books of all time. It is the first book that William Joyce both wrote and illustrated--and what a grand debut!

A boy named George wakes up one morning to find that he is only three inches tall. He also finds a note from his parents with a list of chores he must do (which becomes Joyce's unique way of telling the story--the parent's note is the actual text of the book). The story follows George as he heroically navigates through the now gigantic house, evades the hungry house cat, and completes all his chores in very creative ways.

The illustrations, done in watercolors (though not pale and washy), are a mixture of highly realistic details (the house and surroundings), and a comic style (the characters). Included are several wordless full-page spreads of George flying a toy airplane which on their own are worth the price of the book.

If you can, buy the new large format of the book (November 2000 edition). The illustrations are much larger and the colors are more brilliant. The illustrations were probably rephotographed since the original edition is back from 1987 or so. (...) The newest version has a brand new cover illustration recently done by William Joyce.

Well, enjoy this book and happy shrinking!

great for kids and parents
"One day, while his mother and father were out, George dreamt he was small, and when he woke up he found it was true." So begins this delightful picture book by
William Joyce, who will be most familiar to folks as the creator of Disney Channel's Rolie Polie Olie. George too has his own series now, on PBS, and a spanking new
reprint of his original adventure.

The story here is fairly basic : George, suddenly three inches small, follows the instructions his parents left behind in a note, to clean up the house and watch his little
brother (now a BIG little brother). Along the way he avoids an ornery house cat and rides in a toy plane. Our kids favorite page features George scrubbing dirty
dishes by skiing down them on a sponge.

As with Rolie Polie Olie though, the story is secondary to Mr. Joyce's remarkable artwork. In Olie he manages to combine Art Deco with Futurism; here it's all
throwback. George Shrinks looks like a really hip version of the Dick and Jane books. A story with a miniature hero kids can relate to and illustration interesting
enough to hold adult attention--what more can you ask?

GRADE : A

A great reading-together book
George wakes up to discover he's become small, and then has to do his chores, including washing the dishes (with a sponge for a skis) and taking a bath (of course the rubber ducky is now as big as a boat). Its recommended for 3+ years, but my 16 month-old adores it.