ANNOTATION

A clumsy Englishman tries to dress himself and ends up in Scotland, is chased by a giant sausage, and saves a dog from drowning even though he cannot swim.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

An exciting collaboration.

Meet Bert.

Say, "Hallo, Bert!"

Bert is a friendly chap who has many unusual adventures. For instance, one morning as he struggles to put on his shirt, Bert falls down the stairs, out the door, and into the back of a truck, which takes him on an unplanned journey to Scotland. Another time, Bert is chased down the street by a giant sausage. Not to worry! Cheerful, enthusiastic Bert always rises to the occasion, in this appealingly offbeat combination of spunky text and sprightly illustrations by two internationally acclaimed picture-book creators, working together for the first time.

Allan Ahlberg is best known as the author of several award-winning books illustrated by his late wife, Janet, including The Jolly Postman, Each Peach Pear Plum, and Peek-a-Boo! He lives in southern England. Raymond Briggs is the creator of The Snowman, which has been translated into more than ten languages, as well as of Father Christmas, The Bear, and Fungus the Bogeyman. He lives in Sussex, England.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature

Bert lives with his wife and baby, and we readers had better be quiet or we'll wake that baby up! Five very brief chapters in very few words per page tell us a bit about Bert's life. He manages to end up in Scotland after getting tangled in his shirt and rolling onto a moving truck. He is frightened by, then helped by a man in a sausage costume. He rescues a puppy from drowning. Bert is simple fun; so is his story. The sketchy colored illustrations from full and double pages to smaller sequences are filled with the off-beat humor typical of Briggs. Bee-bee-eyed Bert is a child-like oaf, an overgrown kid. The broad, slapstick humor of his actions will tickle the youngsters, while more subtle details, like the spider spinning a web between his slippers, add fun for older readers. 2001, Farrar Straus and Giroux, $16.00. Ages 3 to 6. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal

PreS-In five brief chapters, Ahlberg and Briggs chronicle the adventures of Bert, a large, affable, and simple fellow. The beginning and end chapters show Bert peacefully at home with wife and baby. The middle three all begin with an ordinary circumstance that quickly becomes frenetic and bizarre. Bert's struggles to put on a shirt somehow land him in Scotland. A stroll down a street finds him being chased by a giant sausage. A walk by a river features Bert both in need of being rescued and then as heroic rescuer. Ahlberg's words are almost superfluous as Briggs's endearing illustrations clearly and comically delineate the action. The humor is quirky and has a decidedly British flair, but the book could prompt some giggles when shared one-on-one with the younger set.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Top-drawer, absurd entertainment from two English masters of the droll. Bert is a victim-of the fates, of misunderstandings, of his two left feet-but he is also an agent of good, a man of pluck, ever an optimist. Bert's a force, no matter how ridiculous. First readers greet Bert, then his wife, then his baby: "Meet Baby Bert. Don't say hallo to him. He is fast asleep. Shh! Turn the page . . . quietly. WAAAAA! Oh no! Now look what you've done." Then Bert has the first of his adventures, in a shirt that gets stuck on his head, making him fall down the stairs and out into the street and onto the bed of a truck that takes him to Scotland. He hitchhikes home in the rain. Forty-seven words in total and some of the broadest humor one could ever hope for, not to mention the color-pencil artwork that practically has readers falling down the stairs right along with Bert. The second adventure finds Bert being chased by a giant sausage and running smack into a lamppost ("Bert bangs his nose") before he discovers it is only a man in a sausage suit, selling sausages. The last adventure has Bert diving into a river to save a barking box. (Bert, of course, can't swim.) This is brilliant stuff: simple tales that unleash great ponderings, like Bert's role in the universe. He could-believe it-be a savior of a sort. Bring us more Bert, please. (Picture book. 3-6)