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Synopsis
The hilarious story of a sneeze that causes barnyard havoc
The farmer is snoozing on the hay in his barn, surrounded by his dozy animals, when the fly buzzing around lands on his nose. Of course he sneezes, which sets off a long chain of consequences, until finally the terrified donkey panics. This story has been compared to the traditional rhyme "The House that Jack Built," and has the same satisfying cause and resulting domino effect.
School Library Journal
K-Gr 3 As a farmer and a barnful of animals doze in the warm haze, a fly lights on the farmer's nose. His explosive sneeze catapults the fly into a spider's webwhich sets off a series of alarms and chases that ends with his dazed awakeningegg-splattered and harness-drapedto find the annoyed face of his wife and the beaming one of his child, who have come to investigate the ruckus. The British author/illustrator depicts the chain reaction in 12 double-spreads of oversized, almost tactile paintings that glow with sun shafts and straw and outshine the mild mayhem and the brief text that relates it. As in Brown's Dark Dark Tale (Dial, 1981), the uneasy undercurrent of anticipatory harm is offset by light humor and wonderful, tale-telling illustrations that will delight the picture book set. Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Lib .