BAD NEWS! I’M IN CHARGE!
by Bruce Ingman & illustrated by Bruce Ingman
Unearthing a proclamation that makes him the boss of everything, a lad proceeds to make the best of it in this undiluted wish-fulfillment fantasy. Working from a quickly drawn-up list (“1. Stay up late. 2. Chips with everything. 3. Snacks all the time. 4. Every Wednesday, teachers wear funny hats”), he sends his parents to bed at eight, installs a bank of TVs, and the like—then discovers that there’s a list of eye-glazing responsibilities too, like kissing babies and opening factories. Only momentarily daunted, however, he assigns all that boring stuff to a cabinet of square-headed adults, and proclaims himself President of Fun. Ingman (Night on the Tiles, 1999, etc.) adds occasional photographic fragments to postmodern scenes featuring sketchy figures and garish finger-paint colors, creating illustrations that are as direct and uncomplicated as the gleeful narrative. Fans of Jules Feiffer’s recent excursions into the preteen id will find themselves on familiar ground here. (Picture book. 6-8)