Product Description

Nearly 50 years ago, Theodor Geisel -- known to the world even then as Dr. Seuss -- met up with a friend who worked for a new animation studio called United Productions of America. "UPA has a fresh outlook," the friend said. Could Seuss write something new and different for them? Something that had a little more going for it than the usual cats chasing mice? "Just suppose," Seuss came back, "there was a little kid who didn't speak words but only weird sounds?" And that's how Gerald McBoing Boing came into being. Brought to life by UPA as an animated cartoon, it attracted legions of fans, rave reviews, and went on to win an Academy Award® in 1951. Available in book form only briefly at the time of the movie's release, here it is again -- unique, delectable, vintage Seuss.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #373375 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-15
• Released on: 2000-02-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Amazon.com
"Just suppose," said Ted "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, "there was a little kid who didn't speak words but only weird sounds?" Thus Gerald McBoing Boing was born, brought to life by a studio called United Productions of America as an animated cartoon. This delightful, rhyming story went on to win an Academy Award in 1951, and was briefly made available as a book at the time of the movie's release. And now it's back!

When Gerald McCloy turns two, he doesn't start talking like most children--he says "Boing boing!" instead. His George Jetson-style father, turning gray, rushes to call Doctor Malone, who decrees there is no cure. In time, Gerald only increases in volume, shouting "Boom!" like a big keg of exploding powder. School is no help, either. He cuckoos and honks in the classroom, "And as little Gerald/ grew older, he found/ When a fellow goes BAM!/ no one wants him around."

Outcast, forlorn, he runs away from home. But just as he is about to board a slow-moving freight, the owner of the BONG-BONG-BONG radio station accosts him by the tracks. "I need a smart fellow/ to make all the sounds,/ Who can bark like a dog/ and bay like the hounds!/ You're GONG is terrific,/ your toot is inspired!/ Quick come to BONG-BONG-BONG,/ McBoing Boing--you're hired!"

This fun and funny picture book--soaked in muted Fiestaware colors--lilts and bounces and boings like a good read-aloud should. Children will discover that sometimes it's our quirks that end up making us special. (Ages 3 and older) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly
This nostalgic adaptation of a 1950 Academy Award-winning animated cartoon features Dr. Seuss's inimitable rhymes, plus images from Crawford's original animation stills, which he based on Seuss's drawings. Gerald McCloy, a saucer-eyed boy with a rooster's comb of hair, doesn't talk like a normal kid. Instead, he makes noises, "louder and louder/ Till one day he went BOOM!/ like a big keg of powder!" Gerald's onomatopoeic talents shock his parents (shown as a classic '50s shirt-and-tie father and bouffant-haired mother in an apron and heels); further, he earns the unkind playground nickname "Gerald McBoing Boing." Dr. Seuss states the issue succinctly: "When a fellow goes SKREEK!/ he won't have any friends./ For once he says, 'Clang clang clang!'/ all the fun ends." Gerald prepares to hop a train out of town, but he's stopped by a radio mogul in search of a sound-effects specialist. As in The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, eccentricity pays off, big time: "Now Gerald is rich,/ he has friends, he's well fed,/ 'Cause he doesn't speak words,/ he goes boing boing instead!" If the conclusion is a tad materialistic, Gerald does appear happy on the soundstage, dressed as a cowboy for a radio serial. Fans of retro graphics will thrill to the vintage illustrations, in shades of olive green, mustardy ochre and spicy red; the snazzy contrasting typefaces used for the sound effects make it easy for Gerald's admirers to honk and clang energetically along. Ages 5-8. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Available briefly as a giveaway in 1951, this is a book to make any latent abandonment anxieties come rushing forth from the closet. Based on Seuss's animated, Academy Awardwinning film in 1951, and suitably refitted with retro-1950s illustrations adapted by Crawford, the tale involves Gerald, a young lad who makes not words but onomatopoeic noises. He boings, honks, cuckoos, or booms, while his father despairs: ``A boy of his age/shouldn't sound like a fool./He's got to learn words./We must send him to school.'' The school has rules about boys who make rude sounds, and Gerald's cohorts shun him as well. Even his parents give him his walking papers. ``Poor Gerald decided/that he had no place/At home, in the school/in the whole human race!'' Off he slips into the night, into the thick of a storm, to hop a slow-moving freight to an uncertain future. At the last moment a voice calls his name. A radio station owner views Gerald's noisemaking as a talent for voiceovers. With Gerald's celebrity comes a host of friends and the love and admiration of his parents. The irony in these pagesthe satirical edge, the poke in the eye of such follyis very subtle, perhaps below the radars of youngest listeners. Older children, and those looking for another round of Seussian rhyme, will take to this celebration of idiosyncrasy. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Disappointed
I was very disappointed when I received this product - due to the price I was not expecting a Little Golden Book. I went back and reviewed the ad- it did not mention it was a LGB.

A story about the value of unusual talents
This is a wonderful book about the value of unusual talents. Gerald is a boy who utters noises rather than speech. He makes sounds like "Cuckoo", "Honk", "Boom" and Boing" in a very realistic manner. Because of this, his parents grow frustrated, his teacher wants him out of the class and the other children make fun of him. When he finally decides that there is no place for him, he packs his things and runs away. However, he is stopped by a man who has heard of his unique talents and wants to hire him to make sound effects at his radio station. From that point on Gerald is famous and goes on to a very successful career in radio. It contains a lesson that all children should learn.

Bad message.
I completely agree with everyone who gave this book 1 star. I just brought this book home from the library & read it to my 2 year old. After reading it, I was very shocked & disappointed. I love Dr. Seuss, and am surprised he wrote this. It is a terrible message to send to children that they won't be accepted by their peers, teachers & (worst of all) their parents if they are different. It is not until Gerald is rich & famous that he is accepted, and his parents become proud of him. I'm planning on taking this book back to the library ASAP.