PPBF: Harold Snipperpot’s Best Disaster Ever

Author/Illustrator: Beatrice Alemagna
Publisher: Harper, 2019
Age: 4-8
Themes: birthdays, parties, animals
Opening: Some days feel like complete disasters. You feel turned upside down, and it seems impossible anything good can happen.

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) Lonely seven-year-old Harold Phillip Snipperpot is excited when his parents, not known for their affection, throw him a birthday party attended exclusively by animals, but things take a turn when his guests start destroying the house, forcing Harold to try and save his party from calamity with surprising results.

I like this book because: I love the underlying theme: sometimes unimaginable disaster can spark positive change. Adults are far more frightened of change or the unknown than children are, and I love how this book bursts through to prove it! Oh, and by the way, the illustrations are exquisite.

Resources/Activities: Watch this interview with Beatrice Alemagna; discuss experiences where one may have thought the worst had happen while going through it, yet some outcome or change might have had positive aspects – like missing a bus and therefore an important appointment, but bumping into an old friend because you missed the bus!; visit the zoo for a ‘safe’ encounter with animals spotted in this book; think about what kind of animals you would like to invite to your own birthday!

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE