SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

January 13, 2009 by Betsy Bird

Press Release Uber-Fun: When You Can’t Tell if There’s a Tongue Stuck in that Cheek or Not

January 13, 2009 by Betsy Bird   4 comments

When Gregory K. emailed me saying that he too had received this press release in his email, I knew it was time to act.  I cannot for the life of me figure out if this is a real book, a real book that’s a joke, or a joke that’s not a real book at all.  I suppose I could order the book and find out, though.  Observe:

Children’s book: The Bomb that Followed Me Home
By Cevin Soling
 
NEW YORK, Jan 5, 2009 – Rumpleville Books is pleased to release the third book in Cevin Soling’s series of "fairly twisted fairy tales."
 
The Bomb That Followed Me Home is the story of a boy, who is followed home by a stray bomb. The bomb follows him everywhere–by trees and landfills, and even the yard of a cantankerous neighbor who yells at the boy for running on their lawn. This same neighbor planted hedges three feet into the boy’s yard.
 
The boy’s parents are resistant to keep the bomb, "who will polish it and change its fuse?" But still the young boy wants to keep it, and even has given the bomb a name-Rusty. The boy’s father tries to find the bomb’s original owner, calling all kinds of authorities like the Department of Defense. He also reaches out to the Weathermen. No one is missing a bomb. Finally the bomb is "given" to the cantankerous neighbors… And then his parents take down the hedges.
 
The Bomb That Followed Me Home has received its share of acclaim. Midwest Book Reviews cites the book, as "surreal .The whimsical, modern-art style of the illustrations are a perfect fit for the loopy mood of this delightful story." Flash News cites the book as author Cevin Soling’s "vengeance" against "people who are mean and psychotic." FOREWORD magazine gave The Bomb high acclaim, writing that Cevin Soling and illustrator Steve Kille "have the power to make readers laugh, and then think. Then scoff at the futility of thinking."
 
The Rumpleville series are contemporary fables that are replete with social commentary. The fairy tale format highlights the perverse morality of contemporary culture and foiled promises of "happily ever after" endings. Like Animal Farm, the simplicity of plot also draws attention to the political intentions of the work.
 
About the book:
The Bomb That Followed Me Home by Cevin Soling
ISBN: 978-0976777120
Publisher: Monk Media
Date of publish: Nov 7, 2007 (first edition)
Pages: 40
S.R.P.: $14.95
 
About the author:
In addition to creating his "Fairly Twisted Fairy Tales" for Rumpleville books, author Cevin Soling has produced award-winning documentaries including A HOLE IN THE HEAD, which has broadcast on both Discovery and the Learning Channel His latest documentary, THE WAR ON KIDS will be shown at film festivals in 2009 and 2010. He’s produced animated shorts, and the independent feature, RELAX IT’S JUST SEX which has shown on HBO and Showtime. He’s an active musician, leading bands including his current group The Love Kills Theory. He is a member of the high IQ society Mensa, a candidate for a Masters degree in Philosophy at Harvard, and awaiting an appointment for a diplomatic post with the U.S. Foreign Service.

Other released books in the series are:
The Jolly Elf, the cautionary tale of a "psycho jolly merry killer elf," who likes to sing, especially at 4:00 in the morning, and who, incidentally, collects shrunken heads.
 
The Disciples of Trotsky, "It’s revolution time in the magical merry world of Rumpleville, but can two tragic ring toss victims rally the spirit of the land and overthrow the bourgeoisie townsfolk?"

Note: Review copies of this book are available by replying to this e-mail.
Please include your mailing address.

They definitely had me going until "The Jolly Elf" part.  Now I’m not so sure. . . .

Filed under: Press Release Fun

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

February 2023

IT RETURNS! The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival Enters Its 12th Year.

by Betsy Bird

October 2022

Press Release Fun: Enter the Stinetinglers Scary Story Writing Contest

by Betsy Bird

July 2022

Press Release: Picture Book Summit Line-Up Confirmed

by Betsy Bird

July 2021

Press Release Fun: The 7th Annual Picture Book Summit, 2021

by Betsy Bird

April 2021

The Podcast/Book Hybrid: Diving Into the Story Seeds Imagination Lab Activity Book

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

U.S. Gov: ‘All Books Must Have Round Corners’

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day – Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other Stories by Jarvis

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Review: Swim Team

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Write What You Know. Read What You Don’t, a guest post by Lauren Thoman

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey Try Something New

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

SLJ Reviews of the 2022 Youth Media Awards

Underdog Titles That Could Take the Prize | Pondering Printz

Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards Voting Is Open

SLJ’s Reviews of the 2021 National Book Award for Young People's Literature Finalists

Presenting the NCTE 2021 Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. teacherninja says

    January 13, 2009 at 1:57 pm

    They have ’em over at Amazon. If it’s a joke, someone has waaaay too much time on their hands.

  2. Jenny Schwartzberg says

    January 13, 2009 at 4:00 pm

    According to OCLC, these books and others are in some libraries. There’s material about Soling, his films and his books on the Internet.

  3. Beth Kephart says

    January 13, 2009 at 5:35 pm

    How, well, intriguing.

  4. SamR says

    January 13, 2009 at 6:21 pm

    A 40 page book? What kind of a press do they have over there at Monk Media?

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023