Michael Le Souffl? and the April Fool

by Peter J. Welling

"The watercolor-and-ink illustrations bubble with a goofy spontaneity."
--Publishers Weekly

"A few laughs to go around."
--Booklist

Once upon a time in 1564, Charles IX, the king of France, ruled that the first day of the year would be January 1 instead of April 1. Those who forgot the change and celebrated New Year's Day on April 1 were ridiculed by having fish thrown at them.

In the skilled hands of Peter J. Welling, this history takes on a hilarious dimension. In the French town of Bakonneggs, there exists a rivalry between Mayor Melon de Plume, a pig, and a prankster rooster, Michael Le Souffl . The mayor lacks a sense of humor and is annoyed to be disturbed from his slumber by Michael's crowing laughter. He issues new laws (including a ban on all feathers), but the town continues under the rooster's leadership to laugh and play.

Then one day, Michael posts a law, signed by the king, on the official oak tree: New Year's Day will no longer be April 1. From now on, the first day of the year will be January 1. Melon is in disbelief and chases the rooster with a wagon of fish, accidentally hitting the king with one, for which he is put in the stocks. The next year, he still celebrates April 1 as New Year's Day, and the king orders that he be pelted with fish until he comes to his senses. Melon is undaunted: he scoops up the fallen fish and hosts a big party, starting an annual day of celebration we now know as April Fools' Day. Populated by a menagerie of animals and creatures real and imagined, including a crafty crew of gargoyles, Michael Le Souffl and the April Fool is sure to keep readers young and old coming back to discover new laughs on every page.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1589801059
• ISBN13: 9781589801059
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 9.3" x 9.7"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Michael Le Souffle and the April Fool

Michael Le Souffle and the April Fool is the imaginative account of the start of April Fools Day. The mayor of Bakonneggs in France is a horribly grouchy man who doesn't want anyone to have fun. He has even outlawed laughing! But when the mayor decides to change the date of New Years Day, everyone is sure he is pulling a prank. Michael Le Souffle and the April Fool tells an entertaining, humour filled story while teaching children a little about French culture and vocabulary. Throughout the pages of the story are French words for the objects shown. The book even includes an easy to use French- English translation and pronunciation guide at the back.

Another gem ? what a fantastic book!

This is Pete Welling's best book yet. Although I didn't think he could top Andrew McGroundhog and His Shady Shadow, I think Michael Le Soufflé's illustrations are the best of any children's book I have seen in recent memory. The story, a comical tale about a happy-go-lucky rooster and an irritable pig, is original to say the least. While I think children (and adults) will enjoy the story, it's the illustrations that steal the show. I was laughing more at the illustrations than at the story. Each page is packed full of humor within humor; the book may be a short 32 pages but it took me half an hour to get through it because I spent so much time on each page looking at the complex, yet fanciful, drawings.If you have a young child just learning to read or an older child who still enjoys being read to while looking at great illustrations, then buy this book. It will be cherished for years to come.