Product Description

Mr. Lunch, the professional bird-chasing dog, never expected his canoe trip to turn into a transatlantic doggie-paddle. And never did he imagine he'd wash ashore in Venice, where the streets are paved with water, and the plazas are paved with...PIGEONS! It's nothing less than the opportunity of a lifetime. Who could imagine a better dog for the job? "Campy yet childlike, sophisticated yet frankly silly, the Mr. Lunch books exert a quirky charm that is hard...to resist." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review. J.otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh also collaborated on Mr. Lunch Takes a Plane Ride (Viking/Puffin), Monkey Business, and Free Lunch (both Viking).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1210594 in Books
• Published on: 1997-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Seibold and Walsh's (Mr. Lunch Takes a Plane Ride) eccentric canine hero and bird-chaser extraordinaire is on the move again, this time in a canoe on loan from an elephant. His first night out he is frightened by a bear, and, paddling as fast as he can, as far as he can, he eventually reaches a city where all the streets are waterways. There he finds the bird-chasing opportunity of his career: after he empties what is clearly St. Mark's Square of its ubiquitous pigeons, he is awarded the Golden Outboard Motor as a gift of gratitude, and with it makes his way speedily home. This adventure, Mr. Lunch's second, is somewhat less manic than his first outing, but it's all relative-plenty of off-the-wall humor fills both the deadpan text (in the authors' unnamed Venice, "nobody noticed a dog in a boat, because everyone was in a boat") and the zany, one-of-a-kind computer-generated art, which packs an astonishing degree of action, expression and detail onto each page. Campy yet childlike, sophisticated yet frankly silly, the Mr. Lunch books exert a quirky charm that is hard to define and even harder to resist. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Mr. Lunch, a professional canine bird-chaser, borrows an elephant's canoe and paddles all the way to Venice, where he finds a pigeon-packed plaza to clear. Although each page of this off-the-wall story is filled with action and detail, Seibold's computer-generated cartoons are extremely stylized and one-dimensional, making it occasionally difficult to recognize simple animals (even Mr. Lunch himself) and objects (water as opposed to land). Furthermore, although the artwork is done in full color, the mustard-and-red color scheme has the appearance of old-fashioned, two-color printing. Fortunately, there are redeeming serendipitous qualities here. The two-page constellation spread depicting the dog paddling over the world to Venice and the renovated, gondola-inspired canoe that he returns to his elephant friend are especially delightful.
Claudia Cooper, Ft. Stockton Independent School District, TX
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 5-8. Mr. Lunch, a canine who chases birds professionally, borrows Mr. Elephant's canoe and winds up chasing feathered friends in Venice amid gondolas and across piazzas. This wildly extravagant story is carried along by a flood of New Wave illustrations, rendered in sophisticated shades of orange, gold, and blue. The unusual compositions are loaded with jokes and visual clues to the text, and Mr. Lunch is the kind of personality that grows on you. Children willing to devote a bit of time to perusing the pages will find both the story and the pictures involving and pleasantly unpredictable. Janice Del Negro

Customer Reviews

Fun for the WHOLE family!
I picked this book up-not knowing a thing about it- simply because it was on sale. Lucky thing! The wonderfully zainy drawings and colors compliment the authors' silly and fresh writing. Every time I re-read "Mr. Lunch Borrows a Canoe" I find new details in the drawings that bring the story more and more to life. This book, and all the others by the same team, have a Sophisticated Ridiculousness that makes them Fabulous for kids, teens, adults, and family pets alike!

mr. lunch and fantasy
i find the mr. lunch books very inventive and humorous. my 4 year old son loves them. i first bought "mr. lunch takes a plane ride," prior to our family flying to california (from new york). it was a perfect primer to the ride. the canoe story is even funnier than the plane story. of course it is absurd and tongue and cheek, but kids don't know that, so it feeds into the invention of fantasy that kids at this age should foster. the drawings are hip as well...very modern...highly recommended!

Nice early effort from Seibold and Walsh
Having recently discovered the wonderful works of J.otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh I went ahead and bought this title, one of their earlier works. Neither the art nor the writing are as fully developed as their later works, such as the exquisite Gluey, but all of the trademark elements are in place. J.otto's art is still irrestibly charming and full of humorous details to find and enjoy. Walsh's writing is simple enough for youngsters to understand, but subtly includes whimsy and benevolence in her typically unforced manner. All ages will enjoy the dog Mr. Lunch's downstream journey to Venice.