The Picture of Morty and Ray

Rating:
Summary: A Wilde Adventure!
Review: Best friends Morty and Ray have a great idea after watching a "Picture" on TV, but their hijinks may have unforseen effects. Pouring pickle juice down anyone's pants really isn't very nice!

Pinkwater and Davis are a great team. The illustrations are a work of art and the surprise ending will really get you thinking!

Rating:
Summary: Wicked Fun
Review: Inspired by "The Portrait of Dorian Gray," this book retells Wilde's classic story for children. The illustrations are enjoyable, if a bit gross. The storyline feels a lot like something that Pugsley and Wednesday Addams would do. The mischief that Morty and Ray get into is appropriate for 1st through 4th graders - if your kids are going to do it anyway, you might as well impress upon them the effect poor behavior has on one's character early. The moral of the story is left for parents to impart as needed, or for the reader to infer on his or her own.

I bought this as a gift for a friend's son, a 1st grader, and he really enjoyed it. I will probably buy another to add to my son's library in a few years - I may buy it now and just enjoy it myself until he gets old enough to appreciate it.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Picture Book
Review: Pinkwater gets inside the heads of two friends who discover the joys of an old black-and-white movie on TV. It's The Picture of Dorian Grey, hilariously depicted in monochrome by Jack E. Davis. The boys decide to create their own dual-self-portrait, and then misbehave to see if the picture becomes hideous like the one in the movie, (and the Oscar Wilde classic). It does! But their delight turns to dismay when they, and the ghastly picture, go too far. They then learn a basic lesson about differences in taste. I heard Pinkwater immodestly review his own book with Scott Simon on NPR--but I forgive him. Pinkwater and Davis have created a masterpiece.