School Library Journal Review
PreK-Gr 1-"The Wimbledons were sleeping. It was very, very late." Thus the stage is set for the peculiar night to come. These family members are periodically awakened by a spooky sound, a strange clanking, a funky smell, and a splashy sound. Each time, Mr. Wimbledon drags himself out of bed to investigate the noises, only to discover that their dog Stanley has been hard at work. Stanley fixes their oil tank and their old television. He clears the bathtub drain and makes catfish stew. As the Wimbledons become more and more exasperated in their quest for sleep, the final straw is the "KAPOW" explosion. With that, the family is off to the moon! The accompanying jazz song in the minor key and the sound effects enhance the mystery of the industrious pet. It is only at the end of the tale that listeners realize Stanley's first noise, his howling at the moon, is an indication of his intent. Narrator George Newbern mirrors perfectly the increasing incredulity that listeners will feel. VERDICT Agee's imaginative story line and characteristic magical wordplay are undeniably extremely entertaining. The repetition and rhyme will appeal to even the youngest of listeners.-Terri Perper, Olney Elementary School, MD © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Stanley the beagle is a diehard fixer-upper, and for some reason he likes doing noisy chores in the middle of the night. One by one, he wakes up every member of the alliteratively named Wimbledon family, from parents Wilma and Walter to their four children. Agee (Terrific) establishes a rhythmic word-and-picture formula in which Walter goes downstairs on six separate occasions, checks on Stanley (always in a wordless spread), and reports back to his restless family: "The Wimble- dons were sleeping./ It was later than before./ When Wendy heard a clanking sound,/ Below her bedroom floor./ 'That's very odd,' said Walter./ Then they heard another clank!/ 'It's only Stanley,' Walter said./ 'He fixed the oil tank.' " Visual hints suggest that the industrious dog has more on his mind than home improvement, and rereadings shed light on Stanley's master plan to transform the Wimbledons' steeply pitched Victorian house into a rocket. As in Milo's Hat Trick, Agee appeals to connoisseurs of the absurd, and he shapes ridiculous developments into a tightly composed and satisfying picture book. Ages 5-8. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
