Things That Sometimes Happen
illus. by Marjorie Priceman
Anne Schwartz Books
Scholastic, 2002
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What’s this book about?
Here are a few things that sometimes happen:
Happy Things: an unpopular Black Crayon proves to a Little Girl how useful he really is.
Sad Things: on a very hot day, an Ice-Cream Cone waits … and waits … to be eaten.
Exciting Things: a Papa catches cold, so his Little Boy gets to go to work instead!
These nine very short stories for very young readers—culled from Newbery Honor author Avi’s first book and illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Marjorie Priceman—ingeniously capture the funny, surprising spirit of a child’s imagination.
Story Behind the Story
In the late sixties, I was trying to be a writer. The best of my achievements was that I did have an agent. But I was also doing many other things. Among such things was a cartoonist; not as an artist, but a doodler. So it was that I doodled a bunch of humorous note cards (which were published) at a time when such was somewhat unusual.
A friend of mine announced she wanted to write a book for kids, and would I illustrate it. Her work was some kind of non-fiction, for which my art was, in fact, completely inappropriate. Regardless, I said, “I’m not an artist, but if you want to show what I do along with your idea, go ahead.”
Awards and Recognition
- Family Fun, Best Books of the Year, 2002
Reviews
“Avi at his most Margaret Wise Brown-esque, in nine offbeat, gnomic tales, drawn from the 30 in his first, same-named collection (1970) … these are daffy and nonsensical … with bright, swirling, vigorously brushed scenes reminiscent of color-drenched Chagall. These cheerfully unconventional, irresistibly buoyant episodes will brighten any young child’s outlook—and cheer up some adults too.” (Kirkus Reviews)
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