A Perfectly Messed-Up Story

Patrick McDonnell

Book cover for A Perfectly Messed-Up Story
Book cover for A Perfectly Messed-Up Story

A Perfectly Messed-Up Story

A Perfectly Messed-Up Story

Patrick McDonnell

Member Benefits

  • 30% Off All Books - Savings that support storytellers, not stock prices.
  • Fight Book Bans - Every membership sends a book to LGBTQ+ youth in affected states.
Member Book Price
$17.99 $12.59
Non-Member Book Price $17.99

An annual membership will be billed at $48/year.

Discount applies to first-time members only. Already a member? Log in here.

View full details

Description

In this interactive and engaging read-aloud, bestselling author and award-winning artist Patrick McDonnell creates a funny, engaging, and almost perfect story about embracing life's messes.

Little Louie's story keeps getting messed up, and he's not happy about it! What's the point of telling his tale if he can't tell it perfectly? But when he stops and takes a deep breath, he realizes that everything is actually just fine, and his story is a good one--imperfections and all.

About the Author

Patrick McDonnell is the author and illustrator of Tek: The Modern Cave Boy, Thank You and Good Night, A Perfectly Messed-Up Story, The Monsters' Monster, and Me...Jane, a Caldecott Honor Book. He is also the creator of the internationally syndicated comic strip Mutts, which inspired his picture books The Gift of Nothing, Hug Time, and others. He lives in New Jersey.

Critical Reviews

* "Brilliant.... A playful, funny, and friendly treatment of anxiety and life's unpredictable messes."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Louie's exaggerated reactions...will trigger laughs with every page turn....McDonnell... excels at reminding his characters--and readers--that it's possible to keep it together even when life has jelly all over it."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The pleasures of watching a book depart from its conventions and address its sticky-fingered reader will tickle even the littlest postmodernist."--New York Times Book Review

"Classic McDonnell pen, ink, and watercolor pastels blend with mixed-media and crayon messes to make this untidy tale a victory for unkempt books everywhere. Keep calm, and read on!"--School Library Journal

"This [one] is a fun one-Kiddos who get messy with their books will likely giggle."--Booklist

Publishing Information

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pub date: 2014-10-07
Length: 40 pages

The Allstora Membership

Membership Perks:

  • Save 30% on all online store purchases
  • Exclusive access to author's content
  • You pay less, but authors still earn double

Membership Terms:

First Month: $0.00
Monthly price: $5.00
  • To access membership discount simply log in and add to cart, discount applied automatically.
  • One month free trial, cancel anytime. Membership renews on the 15th of each month.