The Very Silly Mayor

The Very Silly Mayor
by Tom Tomorrow

The Very Silly Mayor
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Book Summary Information

Author: Tom Tomorrow
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-01
ISBN: 1935439014
Number of pages: 36
Publisher: Ig Publishing

Book Reviews of The Very Silly Mayor

Book Review: Wish It Were So
Summary: 5 Stars

As a very big child, and to add to my collection of children's books to read to kids who come by (and to my own children if and when I have them), I ordered Tom Tomorrow's _Very Silly Mayor_. I've read the book once and I like it. I think kids will like it.

The story is funny, the pictures vivid, and Sparky the Penguin's attitude, which is cynical in the weekly cartoon, here in the context of a book to children, is no less acute but translates as touching and caring. The topic and "seriousness" of the story is so different from most children's books that I think this book will hit people on a different level and bear continuing reading.

The main point I'd like to add to the discussion here is that this book strikes me as more than anything Tom Tomorrow has written as a commentary on his own status in this society. Through his weekly cartoon, "This Modern World," Tom sees through the lies our culture tells itself, and tries to tell the truth he perceives to the world, often through the words of his often exasperated alter ego, Sparky. In the weekly cartoon, Sparky remains cynical, because the air is never cleared. Next week the ongoing cultural saga just becomes more and more outrageous and bewildering to Tom and those of us who follow his cartoon.

Here, though, Sparky speaks truth to power, and power takes heed. The story is heartwarming, and it will teach children to speak up. But it's also a wish fulfillment. Here the powers that be listen to Tom, and all seems to work out for the better. Would it were so, Tom!

Summary of The Very Silly Mayor

?I have always admired Tom Tomorrow for his keen intelligence and penguin-based wit, but now he has unnerved me with a story of socio-political chaos that is at once completely ridiculous and sadly familiar.??Lemony Snicket

?This is a funny book with an important message: we need penguins in government.??Dave Barry

The mayor of the ?medium-sized city? has some very strange ideas. Among them that firemen should put out fires using peanut butter instead of water and that policeman should chase robbers while wearing clown costumes. Needless to say, these decisions don?t work out too well. When Sparky the Penguin wonders why nobody thought to question these silly ideas, he finds out that people were afraid of being laughed at if they disagreed with the mayor.

The first-ever children?s book from legendary cartoonist Tom Tomorrow, The Very Silly Mayor uses Tom?s unique combination of humor and social commentary to teach children to trust their own judgment, even if other people might disagree with their views or make fun of them.

One of the most influential comic artists of the past twenty years, Tom Tomorrow's weekly strip, This Modern World, appears regularly in many papers across the United States, as well as on Salon.com. He is the author of numerous cartoon collections, including The Great Big Book of Tomorrow, The Future?s So Bright I Can?t Bear to Look, and Penguin Soup for the Soul.

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