The Amazing Hamweenie Escapes! by Patty Bowman (2015).
Hamweenie the cat, owner of a top hat and delusions of grandeur returns in this hilarious picture book.
That first spread totally cracks me up and tell us everything we need to know about Hamweenie, our narrator. He is not your average cat. He is hyperbolic. He has more of a curly mustache than whiskers and dresses quite dapper.
Hamweenie believes if it weren’t for being held prisoner in the child’s apartment, his life would be grand and spotlighted and full of accolades.
So he makes a break for it, out to the streets of the city. His dream finally comes true.
He heads for the circus where he’s sure to be a hit, at least in his own mind.
The humor comes not just from Hamweenie’s larger than mice personality, but from the way his narration contrasts the illustrations. Where we see subway riders totally uninterested in Hamweenie or a bear in a tutu trying to attack him, he sees adoring fans. His grandiose perception is what makes him so fun to watch.
And Bowman’s illustrations are fantastic, full of so many details, from what lines the shelves of the laundry room to a woman with a candy cane held like a cigarette. And that pink sky is gorgeous. Yes, pops of pink everywhere in this book.
I think you’ll want to visit her website, where you can see more of her work and even print out a mythological creature/snack food fortune teller.
Thanks to Patty Bowman for images!
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(With big thanks to Dashka Tolstikova for recommending this gem!)
Your turn! Favorite picture books that make you (or kids you know) chuckle?
Love the Hamweenie illustrations!
My Father the Dog by Elizabeth Bluemle and The Louds Move in by Carolyn Crimi and Marla Frazee’s The Boss Baby never cease to crack me up!
Great choices! I’ll put MY FATHER THE DOG on hold at the library right now. 🙂
A hyperbolic cat. How apropos. Reminds me a little of Garfield. Wouldn’t it be funny to put a hyperbolic cat and dog in the same book? Talk about two different perspectives! I’ve got to check out Earth to Clunk. Haven’t seen that one before. I just recommended Crankenstein on my blog. It’s a great example of how text and illustrations play off one another.
Cheers!
Oh yes, Garfield the original hyperbolic cat! 🙂 I haven’t gotten my hands on CRANKENSTEIN VALENTINE yet, but look forward to it!
Big hits with kids at our house these days: almost anything by Mo Willems, Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester, The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak, Scaredy Squirrel books by Melanie Watt, Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj.
Bethany, thanks for sharing your household funny books list. So great! I loooove SCAREDY SQUIRREL(S).
Badger’s Fancy Meal, I’d Really Like to Eat a Child, Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again, Bean Thirteen, Lion vs Rabbit, Wait I Want to Tell you A Story. The Terrible Plop, and My Lucky Day
Awesome list. Thanks, Tara!
Oh my gosh, so funny…love the illustration of him signing that kid’s arm. Hehe
These are my 3 years old all times favorites:
Journey by Aaron Becker
City dog country frog by M Willems & Jon J Muth
Shark Kiss, Octopus Hug by LRReed & Kevin Cornell
Giraffe can’t dance by G Andreae
Thanks for sharing these, Ana!!