AROUND THE CLOCK

All kinds of things can happen in a 24-hour period.

A series of common-sense–challenged characters engage in some odd behaviors that range from merely messy through weird to downright grotesque. Beginning at 6 a.m., when Pete sips a drink, and moving through the day and night in hourly increments, readers meet Hazel Jane and her 100 marbles, Lynn and her imaginary friend, the odiferous Shelley and an assortment of other strange people. It finishes with Pete again, having nightmares from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. Each activity is described in rhyming couplets that range from the simplistic “up/cup” to the tortured “muse/chartreuse” and only hint at what is actually happening. In a style similar to that of Steven Kellogg, Chast’s ink-and-watercolor cartoon illustrations are filled with all the detail that is omitted from the text. Pete has turned his kitchen into a disaster area of spilled food and dinosaur toys, while Hazel Jane is dropping marbles down the drain one by one. Steve has set the dinner table with the usual dishes and cutlery, but he has added a hammer, saw, scissors and more. All the characters have round bug eyes and appear permanently startled. Young readers will have fun examining these vignettes many times to find new and amusing elements.

Entertaining nonsense.