Summary
Before the day is out, Pecorino will furmuzzle a man with a long mustache, wamboodle himself down into a tuba, and cause the most Brobdingnagian blast of a note that anyone has ever heard. It’s all in a day’s work for Pecorino.
How does one even begin to describe the best things about the story of the silliest boy in the world and one of his silly adventures?
Perhaps the best way to explain what is so great about Pecorino’s First Concert is to avoid bothering with the details of its most obvious appeal altogether—that being the simple fact that a book about the silliest boy in the world is likely by its very nature to be amusing, which this story most definitely is—and focus on its additional, less predictable benefits.
For one thing, aside from the funny bits of the narrative itself, author Alan Madison has a wonderful way with language, using interesting words (both real and invented) and descriptive phrases in a manner that gives the story the sort of depth and texture that is difficult to describe but makes for a captivating reading experience.
Another nice surprise is the artwork. AnnaLaura Cantone’s illustrations are distinctive and offbeat—colourful, childlike, wildly exaggerated, and (best of all) brimming with a feeling of movement that carries you through the story without ever slowing the flow of its hilarity.
Pecorino’s First Concert is a special book, one of those few whose elements all come together to create something more than just a story. This is the sort of book that becomes a childhood favourite, and that adults and children can enjoy together again and again.