Wonderful text by Peter F. Neumeyer and fantastic illustrations with Edward Gorey. ( )

Odd and creepy--typical Edward Gorey material. Though my son is not old enough to understand it, he still seemed to be interested in the story and asked more questions about it than he usually does when we read to him.

This scant tale-cum-science lesson illustrated by Gorey lacks enough of the fantastic to give his illustrations free rein. Many of the pages are nearly completely black, and the pictures seem to be only marginalia. One of Gorey's marvelous cats does make an appearance, and was to my daughter the best part of the book, but overall she did not care for it. For myself, it was over quickly and it now rests on my shelf. ( )

My opinion of this book has evolved as I've reread and sat with it. Maybe that's high praise for a children's book, I'm not sure. At first I was nonplussed. The twist ending seemed gratuitous at first, inserted because an Edward Gorey project is expected to be slightly unsettling and odd rather than because the story earns the ending or the ending really adds to the book.
My 3 year old son however took the whole thing in a much more light-hearted way. The strangeness of the ending merely prompted him to keep puzzling it out and asking questions we ended up with a few good conversations about insects, the rotation of the earth, and fiction. As a result of the reading he started making more counterfactual jokes, trying to imagine himself empathetically in different physical situations, and coming up with his own multiple alternative explanations for common daily phenomena.
I just wanted to enjoy the book without any great expectations for its impact, but got so much more.
...and of course the illustrations are great. ( )

The best part of this little book is the pictures, etchings, rather, white on black. Especially droll are the pictures of the cat, caught in his catness so accurately. It is an amusing little book, more, perhaps for adults than children although published by Pomegranate Kids. In thinking back over my daughter's responses to books when little, this might have disturbed her a bit what with cyclones and burst eyeballs..... but maybe I'm underestimating her. ( )