THE FRIGHTFUL STORY OF HARRY WALFISH, by Brian Floca

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Ages 5 to 9

A Richard Jackson Book | Orchard Books

Kirkus Reviews:
For his first solo outing, Floca (illustrator of Avi's Poppy, 1995) has created a whopper that operates on a number of levels: as a zoological exploration, as a wry cautionary tale, and as a story of just deserts. Rambunctious young Harry Walfish, whose legend lives on in the tale delivered by Ms. Leonard-Brakthurst to her rowdy charges at the Natural History Museum, made an extraordinary pest of himself when his class visited that very same institution. Harry, following a day of havoc, is inadvertently locked in the museum when it closes for the night; the exhibits come to life and scare the willies out of him. When he is finally rescued, he is a new Harry--a quiet Harry, permanently humbled. Ms. Leonard- Brakthurst's class, not surprisingly, shifts into a quiet mode, too. Floca drolly insinuates a wonderful bestiary into the story--from the rufous-rumped woodhewer ("Xiphorhynchus erythropygius, I believe,'' notes Ms. Leonard-Brakthurst) to a pygmy marmoset (Callithrix pygmaea), while his crisp, animated watercolors add to the fun.

School Library Journal:
On a visit to the natural history museum, Ms. Leonard-Brakthurst quietly gets her rampaging class's attention with a cautionary tale about Harry Walfish, her mischievous classmate who was once locked in the museum. Harry's initial glee changes to terror when the animals slowly come to life; fleeing wildly through the darkened halls, he ends up in the monkey room, where guards and his teacher find him at midnight, cowering in an exhibit case surrounded by animal specimens pressing on the glass. The creatures that regard Harry unblinkingly in Floca's cartoon illustrations seem more surprised and curious than menacing, and though Ms. Leonard-Brakthurst waves her arms dramatically, she tells the tale in a detached, precise way, inserting an occasional scientific name or fact, finishing with the assurance that, of course, she has only Harry's word that any of this happened. Children aren't likely to be as spooked by the episode as Ms. Leonard-Brakthurst's class is, but most will get the gently delivered point about behavior in public places. John Peters.

Booklist:
When Ms. Leonard-Brakthurst's class acts up in the natural history museum, taking inspiration from monkeys, elephants, and other animals they see ("No one knew a fish could be so noisy, but Alberto seemed convinced"), she tells them about a classmate of hers when she was a girl. Harry Walfish acted up in the museum, too, but found himself locked up overnight when his exasperated teacher didn't bother finding him at closing time. Harry had spent the day fooling around with the animals in the cases, but at night the animals amused themselves by scaring Harry. By the end of her story, Ms. Leonard-Brakthurst has her class back under control. Younger children will probably just enjoy Floca's boisterous story and exuberant pictures, but the more sophisticated children will get a special kick out of knowing just what the teacher is up to. Susan Dove Lempke.