Billy’s classmates may have never considered careers in snail training or sumo wrestling before, but by the time the exuberant eight-year-old is done cataloging his dream jobs, they just might share his belief in unlimited potential!
Virtuoso wordplay, irresistible rhythm, and laugh-out-loud humor abound in the first picture book by the one and only “Weird Al” Yankovic. This unbridled celebration of creativity and possibility invites readers of all ages to consider afresh what they want to be when they grow up.
The book has received critical acclaim from comedian/actor Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, Robotomy, WordGirl), who called the book “wonderful” via Twitter.
And if you don’t care for Oswalt’s opinion, Seth Green (Robot Chicken, Family Guy) says via Twitter that Al’s book is “great…for story-time reading!”
Granted, Seth Green has no experience in parenting to make him an authority on kids’ books, and Patton Oswalt isn’t one most would look to for recommending good books for kids either.
So would it help if Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich gave this glowing review of the book?
Have a kid? Need a book to read with said kid? @alyankovic just wrote one, and it’s great!
And here’s Al narrating an excerpt of his book via YouTube:
(You can download the entire audiobook on iTunes for $1.99.)
Weird Al’s also doing a book signing tour during February 2011, and new dates keep being added to the schedule at WEIRDAL.COM. Current schedule (courtesy of Yank Blog):
Feb 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Barnes & Noble (at the Grove) 2:00pm
Feb 13 – Van Nuys, CA – Costco 1:00pm
Feb 15 – Irvine, CA – A Whale of a Tale 4:00pm
Feb 18 – Naperville, IL – Anderson’s Bookshop 7:00pm
And here are some recent interview links with Al discussing his book:
– Naperville Sun Times: Yankovic book tour to visit NCC
– CNN: What happened when Weird Al grew up
– IndyStyle.TV: Weird Al Yankovic (video interview)
– MyFoxBoston.com: Weird Al Yankovic Interview (video)
– CelebrityBabyScoop.com: Weird Al Yankovic: “Family is my first priority.”
– Stuff.Co.NZ: The Weird Al Yankovic Interview
– ThePageTurn.com: My Favorite Teacher, by Al Yankovic
– iTunes Podcast – English, Baby!: Grow Up – Weird Al Yankovic (Select episode #3.)
– HarperCollins: Q&A with Weird Al Yankovic (PDF file)
– FaceCulture video interview:
Additional source: World of Weird Al Yankovic
~ Craig “Voiceroy” Crumpton
Publisher, Voice Actors in the News
(and lifelong Weird Al fan/”close personal friend”)
