Pistes d'exploration

Examine the title/dedication page. What is different about how the author and illustrator are credited? Why might this be important?

As you read, make inferences about unfamiliar words such as “zimulus” and “sighing flosser.” Discuss the strategies you use to infer their meanings (picture, semantic or sound clues).

Make up five nonsense words. With a partner, write a tall tale incorporating all ten of your words. Include a decoder in the same style as the book.

Look at the title/dedication page. Make predictions about the story. Discuss the meaning of the expression Baloney!

As you read, make inferences about unfamiliar words such as “zimulus” and “sighing flosser.” Discuss the strategies you use to infer their meanings (picture, semantic or sound clues). When else might these strategies be useful?

Discuss how the illustrations help you understand and enjoy the text.

Look at the decoder near the end. Did you use your inferencing skills wisely? Do you know the languages mentioned? Check a world map to find where they are spoken.

Research and discuss how words are shared among different languages. Make a mind map to show your findings.

Mots-clés

Picture book , aliens , outer space , punctuality , school life , tall tales , wordplay , words

Commentaire descriptif

Henry P. Baloney is late for school one time too many. If this charming little alien cannot come up with “one very good and very believable excuse,” Miss Bugscuffle will put him in “Permanent Lifelong Detention.” He launches into a tall tale full of imaginative word play and wild adventuring in order to avoid trouble. We learn that he lost his zimulus (pencil) and his deski (desk) and was put inside a torakku (rocket) which brought him to the planet Astrosus (unlucky). There he encountered the “Astro guys” who wanted to eat him. He got out of some tight spots, finally coming back to his classroom seven minutes late. His teacher is so impressed with his improbable tale that she advises him to get it down on paper. If only he could find his zimulus! Wildly creative multimedia illustrations in a vintage colour palette are inspired by 1920s collage and the futuristic worlds of Fritz Lang. Using a combination of digital techniques and photography to create the fantastical planet of Astrosus, images tell the tale through a storyboard layout. Word play is rich, interspersing words from languages as diverse as Finnish, Swahili and Inuktitut. “I was only three seconds away from zerplatzen all over the speelplaats.” Half the fun is puzzling out their meanings with the help of the glossary. A fun romp through the realm of truth-stretching and linguistic adventure.