Too Much Glue

July 15, 2013
Matty is no paste eater, but short of consuming it, he loves everything about glue, especially using it in enormous quantities. Although Matty’s teacher preaches moderation (“Glue raindrops, not puddles!”), Matty isn’t listening, and his parents are happy to encourage him. An early scene shows the family wearing glue mustaches, goggles, and tiaras as they build small castles from the sticky stuff; debut illustrator Retz’s artwork is created digitally, but there’s a sculptural quality to it that almost suggests he could be using glue as a medium, too. After Matty launches himself into a giant puddle of glue at school, various efforts to free him only compound the problem: “Now I’m a clicky bricky, clingy stringy, blucky stucky mess,” he says, none too upset. First-time author LeFebvre presents a rowdy tale about the disruptive forms that creativity can take; although Matty’s teacher hyperventilates over the situation, there’s no yelling at, scolding of, or consequences for Matty. Adults less understanding than those found within these pages should be forewarned: while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it can also require serious cleanup. Ages 4–8.

August 1, 2013
Can there be too much glue? Matty's about to find out. Matty's art teacher warns him that too much glue will never dry, but Matty (and his dad) loves glue; they play with it constantly. So Matty finds the "fullest" bottle in the art room and squirts it all over his project. Then he flops down in the middle of the mess...and gets stuck. He's "a blucky stucky mess!" His friends try to lasso him with yarn and haul him out, but the yarn breaks and gets stuck; now, he's "a clingy stringy, blucky stucky mess." A Lego tow truck snaps apart in another rescue attempt, making him a "click-brick, clingy stringy, blucky stucky mess!" When the bell rings, the glue's dry, and dad must peel gluey Matty off the table. At home, he's divested of his glue suit, and Dad puts a magnet on it and sticks it to the fridge. After dinner, the family explores the fun of duct tape. Despite the busy plot and superabundance of exclamation marks, Lefebvre's debut never rises to the level of mayhem or fun it aspires to. The cumulative portion of the tale loses rhyme, rhythm and logic six pages before it ends. Retz's Photoshop paintings are bright, wide-eyed and goofy, but they can't add enough fun to compensate for the lackluster text. Great gobs of glue should be more fun than this. (Picture book. 4-7)

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December 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 1-Is there such a thing as too much glue? Matty, the glue-obsessed narrator, is determined to find out in this quirky picture book. Despite his art teacher's warning that "Too much glue never dries," Matty makes a gluey lake for his creation. The finishing touch is to throw himself into the middle of his sticky artwork. "But when I try to pull myself off the table, I boing right back down!" His friends try various methods to free him, the nurse checks his temperature, and the principal leaves a note, but they all fail to pull him from the gluey mess. Finally, his dad, who has a similar obsession, peels him off the table and proclaims, "Matty, you're a masterpiece!" The Photoshop illustrations complement the text. The facial expressions are wonderful on both teachers and students. However, the text can feel choppy and forced at times. A supplemental purchase.-Brooke Rasche, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
Matty ignores his art teacher's warning against using "too much glue" and learns when he takes a flying leap onto his project that he probably should have listened. The outlandish story revolves around efforts to extract Matty from his glue straitjacket, which ultimately becomes its own artwork. The involved illustrations do it justice; too bad Matty's voice is not convincingly childlike.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)