Welcome to Bobville
City of Bobs
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Here's a timely, hilarious picture book, with Seussian appeal! In Bobville, everyone is named...yup, Bob...and everything is exactly the same--until one Bob decides he'd like to be a Bruce.
Welcome to Bobville, home to people only named Bob! In Bobville, the Bobs eat the same food, wear the same clothes, watch the same movies, and have the same hobbies. They agree on everything-- ESPECIALLY that they don't like anyone who isn't named Bob. The Bobs go about their Bob ways, until one day, to the surprise of the entire city, one resident decides he wants to do things a little differently, and live as Bruce. In response, the Bobs build a wall to keep Bruce, and anyone else who dares to be different, out of the city. But Bruce doesn't mind-- it turns out the diverse world outside of Bobville is actually very beautiful. In this timely picture book, bestselling author Jonah Winter and acclaimed illustrator Bob Staake explore how exclusion and walls breed intolerance, and how being different and open-minded enriches our lives and the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The citizens of Bobville are the epitome of conformity: all named Bob, they also look and act the same. Staake (The Book of Gold), leaning into his stylized aesthetic, draws the Bobs as black-and-white figures with rotund, striped bodies; mostly bald pates; and bulbous noses. "Life could get a little dull," writes Winter (Mother Jones and Her Army of Mill Children), but the Bobs cherish their way of life which also includes hating any outliers. When a renegade community member renames himself Bruce and starts wearing red striped pants and a variously patterned bright shirt, the reaction in Bobville is swift and draconian. "The Person Formerly Known as Bob" is banished, and the Bobs build a tall brick wall around the town "for keeping out other not-Bobs"; Bruce, looking not at all displeased, finds happiness in "the big, exciting world outside," which is populated by people (plus one robot, two Martians, and a unicorn) of every color, wardrobe, and lifestyle. The creators devote so many pages to the Bobville orthodoxy that Bruce's new life feels shortchanged, but the laudatory, relevant premise offers a clear way forward for non-Bobs everywhere. Ages 3 7.
