I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS-“Greasy Kid Stuff” (2013).

This song was recorded especially for the Greasy Kid Stuff radio show and appears on Greasy Kids Stuff Vol 3.

It starts out like a very TMBG song–with funny lyrics (by John L) over a simple keyboard melody.  The lyrics are about his unruly hair (it needs some schooling).  But it quickly turns into a plea to the radio for songs about Greasy Kid Stuff!

The chorus sounds very “rock n roll” (with old style backing vocals).

It’s only 1:40 and it’s the kind of song TMBG seems to be able to whip out in a couple of minutes.  But it’s really quite catchy.  It’s nice to get some new fun from John and John and the Dans.

[READ: August 11, 2014] We Can’t All Be Rattlesnakes

Indeed we cannot all be rattlesnakes. Even the main character of this book, a gopher snake, can’t be one, despite how much she looks like one.

The gopher snake is unnamed because even though she is the main character, she has just been captured by a boy named Gunnar.   Well, actually he calls her Crusher, but that’s not her name, and she refuses to acknowledge it (especially since she doesn’t crush her prey, she asphyxiates it).  We see everything that happens to her from her own eyes. This allows us to see everyday human items (like a video game console) as completely foreign.

Gunnar is a kinda dumb, kinda violent boy, at least that’s what the other captive animals claim (reptiles can communicate telepathically, you know).  Speedy the tortoise and Rex the lizard tell Crusher all about how things are in this house.

Gunnar plays violent video games, disobeys his mom, has dumb friends and refuses to accept that Crusher is a girl.  At first Crusher is really angry about being captured and she vows revenge.  Not only won’t she eat the dead mouse he puts in there with her, she refuses to eat the live mouse he puts in there with her.  In fact the mouse, named Breakfast, becomes quite taken with Crusher, and cuddles up next to her.

The other animals tell her that if she ever hopes to get out of the cage, she needs to befriend the boy so that he will take her out.  And so she tries to be docile around him.  She is puzzled by the boy and his loud games and disgusting food and crazy way of life.  But she does like lying on his warm belly, and against her better judgment she becomes somewhat fond of him.

And he loves Crusher, even taking her to school for the pet parade (which Crusher finds rewarding when she is named “scariest pet”).

As the story progresses, Crusher even forgets to look for ways to escape, until the taunting tortoise reminds her what her plans were all along.  Then she finally sees her chance.  She is able to get under a lot of doors, but the door to the outside is way too thin.  And when Gunnar comes to get her, she does what she has been wanting to do for weeks–she strikes.

Which means she gets locked back in her cage.

The end section of the story introduces some very funny scenes.  Matthew, Gunnar’s friend and a gentle soul (his pet is worms because they provide vermiculture), tells Gunnar and his even dumber friends that Crusher is a girl and that she shouldn’t be called Crusher because they don’t actually crush (Crusher herself is impressed by him).  The scenes with Matthew made for some very funny moment.  As did the scenes once Breakfast starts talking (in one word, but very funny one word, sentences).  This aspect is vaguely supernatural, something that Jennings seems to throw into a lot of his stories.  They are not explained, and often provide some light comic relief.

There are some sinister moments, but nothing too scary (not for my six year old) although Sarah was creeped out by the snake.

And the ending is surprisingly touching.

This ends our run through Patrick Jenning’s books.  He has a lot more books, and we may dive back into him (especially when I find Guinea Dog 3).  It was fun to explore a new author whom we all enjoyed.