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Sloppy Joe

Name: Sloppy Joe
Author: Dave Keane
ISBN: 9780061710209

by Dave Keane, Denise Brunkus

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Overview

Meet Sloppy Joe

When it comes to being messy, Sloppy Joe is a pro! He slurps, spills, slouches, talks with his mouth full, and never, ever tucks in his shirt. But being messy has its challenges. So Sloppy Joe sets out to become Neat Joe, only to learn that being messy is a part of who he is—and his family loves him for it!

Synopsis

Meet Sloppy Joe

Publishers Weekly

“Mom says I’m the first kid in history to take a school picture with gum stuck in his hair. You can barely notice.” Keane’s (Bobby Bramble Loses His Brain) opening lines, and the accompanying photo of disheveled Joe with a large wad of bubble gum on his head, clue readers in to this book’s humorous tone—at once understated and hyperbolic—from the outset. Brunkus’s (Junie B. Jones series) bustling art provides bountiful evidence of Joe’s sloppiness: food flies and milk spills as he shovels cereal into his mouth (wearing goggles for protection). But his effortless messiness (“I slurp, spill, slouch, talk with my mouth full, and put my elbows on the table without even trying”) has its downside: his friend’s mom refuses to let Joe—with a frog sticking out of his pocket and a puddle of mud under his sneakers—inside (“But I wiped my feet!” he laments). When his entire family comes down with the flu, his attempts to morph into Neat Joe and make soup have expectedly comedic results. From start to finish, this is good, not-so-clean fun. Ages 4–7. (July)

About the Author, Dave Keane

Dave Keane grew up with six brothers, making him an expert on all things sloppy. When his mom made sloppy joe sandwiches, Dave always got the nastiest dribble stains on his T-shirt—which he'd wear like a badge of honor. Today he is a stubbornly sloppy dad and the author and illustrator of the Joe Sherlock, Kid Detective series. Dave and his neat wife spend their days picking up after their sloppy son and his two slightly less sloppy older sisters. They live in rather tidy northern California.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Young Joe is so sloppy that, as he tells us, you cannot even notice the gum stuck in his hair in his school picture. Still, he assures us that he knows where almost everything is in his incredibly messy room. His despairing family can attest to his ability to make a mess anywhere. When even jokes do not lighten their anger, Joe decides to become Neat Joe. However, by the time of his transformation, nobody can appreciate his efforts because they all have the flu. He does his best to make them feel better, with amusing results. Humor is created by the contrast between the matter-of-fact text and illustrations that demonstrate Joe's ability to create chaos. When the text describes his ability to "slurp, spill, slouch, talk with my mouth full," the double-page scene depicts, in naturalistic detail, a table with a glass spilling milk, a cereal bowl dumping flakes, sisters hiding behind a towel and a cereal box, and the like. Joe's room "looks a little bit messy," but the finely-detailed double-page spread shows a bedroom looking like a frantic robber has searched it. Several scenes with cavorting frogs are particularly comic. Amid the disorder, Joe remains appealing, whether neat or sloppy. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2—Joe is a sloppy kid. He seems always to be surrounded by messiness and chaos. His grandparents lay newspaper under his chair when he eats with them. His pet frogs turn up in unexpected places. And adults are continually trying to clean him up, straighten his clothes, and improve his posture. But Joe's family loves him as he is. He tries to become neat with some limited success, and when his parents and siblings come down with the flu, he springs into action, bringing them socks topped off with ice cubes for their foreheads, filling the air with germ spray, and entertaining them with his corny jokes as they lie prostrate on the sofa. The illustrations are hilarious. This charming picture book is a wonderful choice for most libraries.—Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME