Ben Hillman
That Pesky Toaster!
language
(Hyperion (Juv) Nov. 5, 2013)
, 1st edition
“Beautifully, wondrously illustrated, with grand fluidity! You really put the eyeballs and the soul in motion."
-- RAY BRADBURY
Who knows what’s going to pop up out of that pesky toaster? Goldie puts in her fresh homemade bread but — oy vey! — out swirls a galaxy!
"That Pesky Toaster!" melds astrophysics with appliances to create an adventure that’s inside out, upside down, and out of this world.
Kirkus: "Terrifically entertaining"
Bank Street Bookmark: "Truly one of a kind."
Kirkus Review:
“Goldie’s toaster may look like a cross between an Electrolux and a bull terrier, but there’s a whole lot more than heat in those coils. She throws in a couple of slices of bread-expecting the worst — and out swarms a minor galaxy. Goldie brooms the star cluster into submission, only to have it collapse into a black hole that settles squarely on a fresh bumbleberry pie. When Goldie’s man Gus goes for a slice, he swallows more than pie and the astral ride begins. Hillman’s text is down-home wry (“I need such a space-time singularity like a hole in the head,” moans Goldie as the black hole snakes around her kitchen) with an occasional loopy rhyme, while his terrifically entertaining pen-and-ink illustrations are saturated with color and have a look that can only be described as part medieval, part industrial. The action is fast, furious, exuberant. Goldie and Gus warp in from the void and settle down; the sun now rises in the west. A minor understanding of astrophysics is required, but for readers in the know, the book pays back in spades.”
Bank Street Bookmark Review:
“Sometimes, a surprising book comes in and gets passed around the bookstore, from hand to hand, as we all utter appreciative comments and smile delightedly. Without giving away the bizarre twist of plot, let’s just say the story revolves around a toaster with an astronomical defect. Truly one of a kind.”
Kirkus: "Terrifically entertaining"
Bank Street Bookmark: "Truly one of a kind."
Kirkus Review:
“Goldie’s toaster may look like a cross between an Electrolux and a bull terrier, but there’s a whole lot more than heat in those coils. She throws in a couple of slices of bread-expecting the worst — and out swarms a minor galaxy. Goldie brooms the star cluster into submission, only to have it collapse into a black hole that settles squarely on a fresh bumbleberry pie. When Goldie’s man Gus goes for a slice, he swallows more than pie and the astral ride begins. Hillman’s text is down-home wry (“I need such a space-time singularity like a hole in the head,” moans Goldie as the black hole snakes around her kitchen) with an occasional loopy rhyme, while his terrifically entertaining pen-and-ink illustrations are saturated with color and have a look that can only be described as part medieval, part industrial. The action is fast, furious, exuberant. Goldie and Gus warp in from the void and settle down; the sun now rises in the west. A minor understanding of astrophysics is required, but for readers in the know, the book pays back in spades.”
Bank Street Bookmark Review:
“Sometimes, a surprising book comes in and gets passed around the bookstore, from hand to hand, as we all utter appreciative comments and smile delightedly. Without giving away the bizarre twist of plot, let’s just say the story revolves around a toaster with an astronomical defect. Truly one of a kind.”
"That Pesky Toaster!" has been reprinted in full in "Muse," a kids' science magazine published by Cricket.
"Science" magazine featured an illustration from "That Pesky Toaster!" in an article about the public panic (unfounded) regarding the possibility of the Large Hadron Collider creating a black hole which would swallow the Earth. We are proud to have made this small contribution to high energy physics.
-- RAY BRADBURY
Who knows what’s going to pop up out of that pesky toaster? Goldie puts in her fresh homemade bread but — oy vey! — out swirls a galaxy!
"That Pesky Toaster!" melds astrophysics with appliances to create an adventure that’s inside out, upside down, and out of this world.
Kirkus: "Terrifically entertaining"
Bank Street Bookmark: "Truly one of a kind."
Kirkus Review:
“Goldie’s toaster may look like a cross between an Electrolux and a bull terrier, but there’s a whole lot more than heat in those coils. She throws in a couple of slices of bread-expecting the worst — and out swarms a minor galaxy. Goldie brooms the star cluster into submission, only to have it collapse into a black hole that settles squarely on a fresh bumbleberry pie. When Goldie’s man Gus goes for a slice, he swallows more than pie and the astral ride begins. Hillman’s text is down-home wry (“I need such a space-time singularity like a hole in the head,” moans Goldie as the black hole snakes around her kitchen) with an occasional loopy rhyme, while his terrifically entertaining pen-and-ink illustrations are saturated with color and have a look that can only be described as part medieval, part industrial. The action is fast, furious, exuberant. Goldie and Gus warp in from the void and settle down; the sun now rises in the west. A minor understanding of astrophysics is required, but for readers in the know, the book pays back in spades.”
Bank Street Bookmark Review:
“Sometimes, a surprising book comes in and gets passed around the bookstore, from hand to hand, as we all utter appreciative comments and smile delightedly. Without giving away the bizarre twist of plot, let’s just say the story revolves around a toaster with an astronomical defect. Truly one of a kind.”
Kirkus: "Terrifically entertaining"
Bank Street Bookmark: "Truly one of a kind."
Kirkus Review:
“Goldie’s toaster may look like a cross between an Electrolux and a bull terrier, but there’s a whole lot more than heat in those coils. She throws in a couple of slices of bread-expecting the worst — and out swarms a minor galaxy. Goldie brooms the star cluster into submission, only to have it collapse into a black hole that settles squarely on a fresh bumbleberry pie. When Goldie’s man Gus goes for a slice, he swallows more than pie and the astral ride begins. Hillman’s text is down-home wry (“I need such a space-time singularity like a hole in the head,” moans Goldie as the black hole snakes around her kitchen) with an occasional loopy rhyme, while his terrifically entertaining pen-and-ink illustrations are saturated with color and have a look that can only be described as part medieval, part industrial. The action is fast, furious, exuberant. Goldie and Gus warp in from the void and settle down; the sun now rises in the west. A minor understanding of astrophysics is required, but for readers in the know, the book pays back in spades.”
Bank Street Bookmark Review:
“Sometimes, a surprising book comes in and gets passed around the bookstore, from hand to hand, as we all utter appreciative comments and smile delightedly. Without giving away the bizarre twist of plot, let’s just say the story revolves around a toaster with an astronomical defect. Truly one of a kind.”
"That Pesky Toaster!" has been reprinted in full in "Muse," a kids' science magazine published by Cricket.
"Science" magazine featured an illustration from "That Pesky Toaster!" in an article about the public panic (unfounded) regarding the possibility of the Large Hadron Collider creating a black hole which would swallow the Earth. We are proud to have made this small contribution to high energy physics.
- Pages
- 32
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