I Am So Handsome
Written and Illustrated by Mario Ramos
After breakfast the wolf “puts on his finest clothes,”- a natty blue necktieneatly knotted. That is all. He is ready for a stroll through the forest so “everyone can admire me.” Ah! We sense something different about this wolf.
Children will love that the wolf meets characters they know. The first person he sees is Little Red Riding Hood. “My little wild strawberry,” he calls her, and asks who is the most handsome. She tells him that he is. Why did he call her a strawberry? Because strawberries are red and she is Red Riding Hood.
The three little pigs are “little bacon bits,”- perfect naming. They tremblingly confirm that he is indeed the most handsome.
“Heh, heh! I shine, I dazzle, I gleam, I glitter.” There is no stopping the wolf. He tells the seven dwarves “that mine of yours is such a hole.” Second grade readers will enjoy this word play-of course a mine is a hole in the ground!
The wolf meets Snow White and advises her to look after herself. Readers know that the magic mirror had told Snow White that she is the fairest of them all. Even so, the wolf asks her who is the most handsome.
Who comes next? A baby dragon! The “little gizzard” has never seen a wolf, and doesn’t care. His dad is the most handsome, he says, blowing a fireball at the wolf that singes the fur and burns his necktie to a crisp. Very politely the baby dragon adds, “No more stupid questions. We’re in the middle of a game of hide and seek.” What an empowering message: you may be a wolf but I have my own things to do. Our strutting wolf has gotten his just rewards.
The book is a translation from the French. Its striking illustrations and interesting word play create a sly humor that has even the youngest reader in stitches. It will be a great addition to any reading list.
Listen to it here: http://www.wcl.govt.nz/kids/downloads/i_am_so_handsome/
About the Author: http://www.geckopress.co.nz/Mario_Ramos_95.aspx
Title: I am so Handsome- Author: Mario Ramos
- Illustrator: Mario Ramos
- Publisher: Gecko Press
- Reviewer: Anjali Amit
- Hardcover: 24 Pages
- ISBN: 978-1-877579-19-6
- Genre: Fiction Picture Book