The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups, by David Wisniewski

The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups
by David Wisniewski
48 pages
©1998
New York: Lothram, Lee & Shepard
ISBN 9780688153397



Annotation
Classified files explain the REAL reasons adults want kids to comb their hair, eat their veggies, and drink their milk -- they're much funnier than you might think!

Commentary

David Wisniewski brings The Truth to kids -- because grownups have "far more sinister, truly macabre reasons for their seemingly innocent requests". After explaining how each Grownup Rule was uncovered (usually by the sneaky author in disguise!), he explains that kids need to drink milk, otherwise the genetically-engineered Atomic Cows hidden in milking centers across the U. S. would fill up and explode! If kids don't comb their hair, it will be pulled back into the scalp by tiny sumo wrestlers and everyone will be bald! With no brains! (All bald people keep their brains somewhere else, like in a briefcase.) Now that readers know the secret grownup reasons, they can fight the good fight against rampaging vegetables and keep their brain-balloons inflated by keeping their fingers out of their noses.

The cut-paper illustrations are whimsical and full of energy. They are interspersed with photos of 3D models (the illustration of Cranial Hair Overload looks like it combines paper, cardboard, cork, and artificial hair in a cross-section of the skull). Tweens, known for questioning the wisdom of adults, would find the subject matter amusing; it requires a well-tuned sarcasm meter to detect the humor underlying the author's earnest tone.


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Media: paper, textiles, photography