The Bomb the Followed Me Home by Cevin Soling

Product Description (from Amazon.com)

We've all heard of stray cats following kids home or a lost puppy yelping by a kitchen door for food, but did you know that even a wayward little bomb needs love and attention too? When a bomb, looking for a friend, follows a young boy home, trouble breaks out in a suburban household that is just trying to keep peace with the angry neighbors next door.

"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."

(quote taken from the press release)

MY REVIEW

This is most assuredly a twisted fairy tale!! The book LOOKS like a children's book but is clearly not your typical kid's book... and I probably won't be reading it to mine anytime soon! That being said I found it quite entertaining. The social commentary aspect appealed to me. The illustrations by Steve Kille matched the tone of the story perfectly. Anyone with a wry sense of humour would likely enjoy this book. This is the perfect fairy tale for the resident cynic in your life :)