Bewitched Kids Corner {15} I’m Bored by Michael Ian Black, Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Posted 7 March, 2014 by Heather in Bewitched Kids Corner, Heather, Heather Book Review, meme / 3 Comments

Bewitched Kids Corner {15} I’m Bored by Michael Ian Black, Debbie Ridpath OhiI'm Bored by Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Michael Ian Black
Published by Scholastic, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on September 4, 2012
Genres: Children, Picture Book
Pages: 40
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
4 Stars

There is NOTHING boring about being a kid, but one little girl is going to have to prove it in this anything-but-boring picture book from comedian Michael Ian Black.

Just when a little girl thinks she couldn't possibly be more bored, she stumbles upon a potato who turns the tables on her by declaring that children are boring. But this girl isn't going to let a vegetable tell her what's what, so she sets out to show the unimpressed potato all the amazing things kids can do. Too bad the potato is anything but interested....

This tongue-in-cheek twist on a familiar topic is sure to entertain anyone who's ever been bored-or had to hear about someone else being bored-and is filled with comedian Michael Ian Black's trademark dry wit, accompanied by charismatic illustrations from newcomer Debbie Ridpath Ohi.

Happy Friday, and welcome to the latest installment of our monthly feature.

 I’ve purchased some real gems from the Scholastic Books flyer that my son brings home from Pre-School every month. I’m Bored, written by comedian Michael Ian Black and fantastically illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi, is one of those rare books that my almost five-year-old son loves and I highly enjoy as well. This is a good thing because I’ve honestly lost count of how many times we’ve read this over the last month.

I’m Bored features a pig-tailed little girl who’s so bored she can barely stand it, but then a potato comes out of nowhere and whacks her on the head. And guess what? The potato is even more bored than she is because he doesn’t think that little kids can be any fun because he only likes flamingos. This idea sets the girl off to prove that kids are anything but boring, and she spends the rest of the book showing the deadpan potato how exciting, imaginative, and great it is to be a kid. The potato is not impressed, however, and he answers “Boring” to almost everything she does.

This book is full of comedian Michael Ian Black’s deadpan wit, and the ironic twist at the end when the potato finally gets to meet his idea of fun is laugh out loud funny. The illustrations by Debbie Ridpath Ohi are lovely and expressive without being too busy, which is refreshing. The only minor complaint I have is the lack of dialogue tags throughout the text, and it’s more of a stylistic stumbling block the first few times reading this aloud. By using a different voice for the girl and the potato, the tags aren’t necessary, but it was a bit awkward to read at first.

I give I’m Bored a four out of five. This is easily my son’s favorite book at the moment, and we’ve often read it and immediately started over at page one. The look on the potato’s face in the last illustration is priceless, and it’s definitely worth checking out.

Rating 4

There’s a wealth of extra material over on Illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s webpage for this book, such as illustrated book plates, teacher’s materials, print-ready activity sheets for parents, young readers, as well as videos. There’s even a super cute video that she linked of a few youngsters reading the book.

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Heather

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I'm a PhD chemist who loves sarcasm, music, and books-paranormal, mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, and romance. Most of my free time is spent at the martial arts studio these days--whether practicing Combat Hapkido or reading books while watching my son's Taekwondo classes, or even working up a sweat with Kickboxing for fun. Goodreads

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