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THIRTEEN O’CLOCK by James Stimson

THIRTEEN O’CLOCK

by James Stimson & illustrated by James Stimson

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 2005
ISBN: 0-8118-4839-6
Publisher: Chronicle Books

A film animator for James and the Giant Peach makes his children’s book debut with this entertaining, deliciously quirky chronicle of a “ring-rackety clock-oddity” that chimes at 13 o’clock and a small girl in a “fairly normal house” who “thought it all quite nice.” Suspense builds with each bing, clank and toll of the clock: “The next horrifying chime numbering 9 / led to a curious clatter numbering 10, / the tenth tone to a horrendous number 11! / And with each haunting cue there came another / more horticulturally hideous than the other.” Internal rhyme, alliteration and whimsical wordplay abound, making this poetic story a delight for wordsmiths and a rather hypnotic read-aloud for the younger set who may not yet revel in sentences such as “Is it a peculiar pendulum with a precarious pivot?” Stimson’s stylized pencil illustrations, mostly black-and-white but tinged with mildew-green, recall Lane Smith’s work and crawl and swirl with spriteful frights, pumpkin creep sisters and other spooky sorts. Innovative designs and varied font sizes add to the fun of this offbeat offering. (Picture book. 7-10)