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This story of a young boy’s battle with family, his art, expectations from friends and relatives brims with hilarity, aggravation, frustration and contradictions. Jimmy wants approval from his father for his artistic leanings. But the first time his father talks frankly to him about his conflicted emotions over Jimmy and his Uncle Lester’s creative inclinations, Jimmy is deeply uncomfortable. Jimmy idolizes his schoolmate Charlie Beemer. But Charlie’s subtle manipulations and critique over the b...
My brother recommended The Man in the Ceiling byJules Feiffer because he said I would enjoy it. Because my brother read it as a kid and thought it was essential for me to read. At first, I was taken back on how childish the book was. Then, I was told it was a book written in a kids’ perspective but it had mature themes and symbolism.The story is about a kid named Jimmy who lives with his mom, dad, and two sisters. Jimmy has a talent for drawing. Instead of playing baseball like all the other kid...
Beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking, as well completely uplifting in a way that isn't cheezy or overdone. I wish I had more books like this to read when I was young. Instead I just read this one over and over and over.
I remember having a strong reaction to this book in grade school, and I revisited it to see if it would hold up. It does, and then some. Jules Feiffer is best known for his illustrations for "The Phantom Tollbooth", and his illustrations here are just as effective. The feel is a bit of the more melancholy parts of Roald Dahl, with family dynamics that feel perfectly true and also a little like a YA J.D. Salinger. He inhabits the inner life of the 10-year old protagonist. It also feels a bit like...
This book was about a boy, whose family didn't understand him. The boy loved doing art. Jimmy, the boy wants to be a cartoonist someday but his parents think he is wasting his time. How can he make his parents understand and his passion of art? I rated this book a 4 out of 5 because it could of been funnier.Date Finished: 10/18/17
This is another one of my all-time favorites. It will stay with me for a loooong time
I think I picked this book up by accident thinking it was something else by a similar title. Boy am I glad I did. It was an easy read, and even one that didn't fully engage me for awhile. However I was so pleased with how it ended and the feeling and message of the book. Also feels very timely for me right now. Would recommend this book for anyone.
Part inspiration, part infuriation... the story follows a young boy who is unique in his love of cartooning as he experiences some typical, and some not-so-typical, challenges. The parents are appalling in their poor management of their children, which is made somewhat enjoyable by small moments of comeuppance. There are some lovely moments in this story, but only barely manage to override the frustration that permeates each chapter. Nevertheless, it has a charming finish, and you get the sense
One of the best kids books I have read, and reread and reread some more. A true joy.
I recently attended a conference on Learning and the Brain. One of the speakers was Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford who has been doing breakthrough work on motivation and learning. In her talk--as well as in her book "Mindsets"--she referred to two types of mindsets, fixed mindset and growth mindset. Studies she's conducted show the benefits of a growth mindset, where the learner believes that intelligence is malleable and effort is the key to improving intelligence. This bears a...
Such a beautiful and inspiring book. So funny in parts, and incredibly moving.
Kind of an oddball of a book. At times I was connected to it and was identifying with some of the musings of the main character Jimmy. At other times I felt that there was a disconnect and the story would take somewhat of a strange turn. I liked it though. It was a very honest look at the feelings of a young boy in relation to his parents, his peers, his siblings, his uncle and his talents or in some cases his lack of talent. The observation of these feelings by the author were touching at times...
I’ve enjoyed Jules Feiffer cartoons since I was a child. This book tells the story of a boy who wants to be a cartoonist. With tensions in his family and at school he tries to draw comics.There’s a good moral tale about being true to yourself and not trying to impress others.I wonder if this is partly autobiographical.It certainly reminded me of the little comics I used to draw as a boy.
Ay que bonito este libro. I remember reading this in high school and being totally blown away!! Reading it as an adult definitely makes it resonate on a whole different level. It goes really deep when talking about creativity, failure, being an artist, etc. I also just loved the way it captures a child's view of adults -- always slightly suspicious and bewildered, as in, what is it with these grown ups? En fin, this makes a great read and a great gift for any creative type. If I could get a hold...
Are you into books with creative characters? If so read The Man in the ceiling by Jules Feiffer. This book is about a boy who is a aspiring artist and wants to be creative However his dad thinks artist are dumb and unnecessary. Since the mothers brother wrote plays that would never make it in the real world the father thinks this idea is very dumb. The boy has a friend a school that reads his comics and tells them if they are good. The friend did not like one of his series so made him start some...
Five amazing stars for a badass protagonist with ambitious bit realistic dreams and for being the best book to read over the weekend! Fun fact: This book is by the illustrator of who drew my all time favorite THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH.
To begin with, I think our library has this book in the wrong section. It was in the Juvenile area,and after reading it, I really think to be appreciated you need to be at least a pre-teen. The author does a masterful job of introducing us to Jimmy and his artistic thoughts and struggles. With excellent illustrations, the reader will fall in love with Jimmy. Jimmy loves to draw comics, but his father considers it useless talents. Jimmy finds that drawing for others isn't nearly as fun as doing i...
One of Feiffer's children's books, borrowed from the library, really enjoyed it. Sufficiently funny and charming that parents reading it to their kids will enjoy it. Nice accompanying illustrations, but it's largely a prose book. Recommended for anybody with young 'uns.Jimmy wants to be a cartoonist, but his ideas are derailed when a more popular boy shows interest in his work, but wants Jimmy to draw the popular boy's ideas rather than Jimmy's own. Meanwhile, Jimmy's uncle, a longtime wannabe p...
I think I wanted to like this much more than I did. Parts I identified - the boy has to do everything because the Mother is afraid of the sister. I didn't like the cartoons, I didn't like the parents and I didn't like the boy. He would dump his friends in a minute. I liked the uncle though.
What a wonderful children's chapter book.