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A naughty child who has been exiled to the corner of his classroom dreams big dreams in an attempt to show he doesn’t belong there. Although the reason for his punishment is not specifically given, the notes on the blackboard easily convey the message that this boy rolls his eyes, schemes, is bossy, laughs at his classmates and thinks he’s the most important guy around.
Obviously this is not a nice boy, but rather one with an ego the size of his plans. Right from the start, this overbearing child spouts in really BIG letters that he has “Big plans, big plans I say!” And this little guy doesn’t believe in starting at the bottom. No sir, he heads straight to the top of a high-rise boardroom, where he tells the bigwigs what’s what.
From there he journeys to a football team, where he shows up the players. Then it’s off to the mayor’s office to show how a big thinker gets the job done. He quickly realizes the mayor is small potatoes and travels directly to the White House to oust the president.
After using certain States to do his bidding, this condescending youngster shoots to the moon, where he stands back and forces his mynah bird sidekick to do manual labor so the whole world will know he has BIG PLANS!
Although you can’t help but admire this kid for dreaming big and craving success, his tactics leave something to be desired. There is not much to endear us to this rude and bossy child, which makes it difficult to cheer him on. Success should not be gained at the expense of others, and respect doesn’t play into this story at all. Naughty humor can be funny when a child unwittingly misbehaves, but one who is purposefully rude is not amusing.
Author Bob Shea is known for his fun and witty picture books written from a kid’s perspective, and Big Plans is no different. However, what may have been meant to inspire big dreams also encourages arrogance.
The illustrations, by Lane Smith, of The Stinky Cheese Man fame, are bold and loud and fit the main character like a glove. This book is well put-together and certainly eye-catching. But be forewarned: when reading aloud to group, it may well incite a riot instead of inducing motivation.
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Big Plans