Book Descriptions
for Silly Billy by Anthony Browne
From The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)
Worrying about everything keeps Billy awake until Grandma gives him some Guatemalan worry dolls to tell his worries to. Billy sleeps well—until he begins to worry about overburdening the tiny dolls with worries. His solution: crafting tiny worry dolls for the worry dolls. Color and layout are effectively used to create various moods in the surreal illustrations, which are filled with superb details, such as the change in the facial expressions of the worry dolls to frowns after Billy has transferred his worries to them and the labeling of each doll with its name. Includes a note on customs associ ated with Guatemalan worry dolls. 2007 Outstanding International Books List. Anthony Browne is the British Children’s Laureate from 2009 to 2011. ca
Originally published by Walker Books Great Britain, in 2006.
From the Publisher
Billy worries about everything, from shoes that might march out the window to giant birds that might carry him away. One night on a visit to Grandma's, Billy is so anxious that he can't sleep. But Grandma has just the thing for a boy like Billy -- tiny, colorful worry dolls, made to do his worrying for him. That night when Billy puts the dolls under his pillow, he sleeps like a log. But soon it dawns on Billy that something is not quite right -- now he has all those worry dolls to worry about! Leave it to Anthony Browne, with his surreal illustrations and a final clever twist, to come up with a solution that puts Billy at ease at last.