Morning Glory
 

Every single morning of his life, Ivan does the same thing. He gets up. He eats breakfast. He sits at the table. In theory, he does his homework. But instead of studying, Ivan sits at the table and stares hypnotically out the window, mesmerized by the huge morning glory vine growing on the opposite wall. One morning he spies a gigantic rat climbing the vine. His cry of horror soon unleashes a day of madness and misunderstanding. As more and more people respond to Ivan’s cries — his family, the neighbors, even the media — the situation becomes increasingly frantic until finally, the Kafka-esque city bureaucracy steps in . . . This uproarious shaggy-dog story reminds young readers how easy it is to misunderstand a situation and how wildly people can overreact — and how quickly things can spiral out of control. Quirky illustrations from the renowned Spanish artist Max enhance the absurdist humor that children adore.