Whatever Book

It takes extreme measures to get a response out of the stubbornly indifferent Billy in a wry little tale that readers of all ages will surely relate to.

Billy can be very difficult to please. Show him something very tall or very small, and he'll say, "whatever." Let him play inside the bounciest castle, and he'll shrug and say, "whatever." Take him for a ride in the smokiest train or the speediest spaceship — it doesn't matter. Billy's reaction is always the same. What might the surly boy say if a hungry tiger came by and his nonchalant dad gave Billy a taste of his own medicine? William Bee's quirky illustrations give an amusing new spin to a familiar scenario that will have both children and adults laughing in recognition.

Publishers Weekly

This visually enticing story introduces a boy "who can be very difficult to please." Billy-drawn as a square-headed block of a boy-and his father, whose raised eyebrows and tipped hat suggest a larger, more animated version of his son, a master of the pre-adolescent rejoinder, "whatever." The boy's apathy doesn't deter his father, however, who is bent on getting a reaction from his son. He shows Billy "something very tall"; readers must tilt the book for a vertical view of a collage giraffe, with photographic elements of a ruler incorporated into its impressive neck. The animal holds Dad's hat in his teeth and, on the next spread, replaces it on Billy's head. Upping the ante, the man plays Billy a tune on "the world's curliest trumpet," and flies him into outer space, always to the same response: "Whatever." Finally Dad introduces Billy to "the world's hungriest tiger," who eats him. This at last prompts words from the boy, but now it's Dad's turn to utter the refrain. Bee illustrates this cautionary tale with highly stylized visuals that are baroque in their intricacy. Heavy black lines contain swirls, floral patterns and letters, contrasting with the characters' stolid shapes. The eye-pleasing results go a long way toward injecting some fun into the book. Ultimately, however, the story comes off as more mean than spirited. Parents may grin at the ending, but young readers may have trouble finding the humor. Ages 5-up. (Nov.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.