Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In another lively collaboration, Barnett and Harris (A Polar Bear in the Snow) offer up a funhouse-mirror picture book guide to the future. Told that the book was drafted in the by-and-by, readers learn that the to-come timeline is less about interplanetary travel and more about quirky behavioral and linguistic shifts. The sun is known as the moon, sneezes receive the response "Forgive me, Susan!," and instead of giving verbal thanks, "we gently place a fish on another person's head." Relaying these seeming absurdities as self-evident facts, a docent-like narrator skips the whys behind the changes ("I have too many other things to tell you"), simply noting, "This was confusing at first, but now, in the future, we are used to it" and asking, "Wait, do you do... the thing with the fish, too? Or is that just something we do in the future?" Ink-and-gouache illustrations bring to mind an earnest first learning book that's rendered in electric colors; the new terminology is often slapped on with DIY-style label-maker strips. Showing how customs without context may well feel arbitrary, it's a solemnly silly look at social norms--and the authorities who decide them. Ages 4--8. Agent (for Barnett and Harris): Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3--This tongue-in-cheek guidebook from the future reveals all kinds of silly surprises about what the future will be like. Morning is night, and night is morning. Bananas are called apples, and apparently there is no word for apples because there are no apples in the future. The color orange has been replaced by the color blorange, which is a very popular word because nothing rhymes with it. The full-bleed illustrations are presented in ink and gouache, which, according to the end papers, "means something totally different in the future." A lot of people in the future are called "Charlie Cheese Face," while instead of saying goodbye, it is "You smell like a baby." Young readers will have a rollicking good time pondering the reasons for all of this. Two award-winning authors make for an explosive combination in this crowd-pleasingly zany story that is sure to be a story hour hit. Humans are depicted with a mix of skin tones. VERDICT Recommended for all picture book collections.--Jessica Marie
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Frequent collaborators Barnett and Harris (The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, rev. 7/22, and sequels) here report from the future -- and it's quite a trip. "In the future, the sun is called THE MOON and the moon is called THE SUN"; morning is night, and vice versa...Bananas are known as apples, and "APPLES?...We don't have apples in the future." Barnett's expert comedic pacing brings the silliness to another dimension; just when we think we know where the joke is going, he throws in a zinger to keep us off balance. The cleanly composed illustrations are rendered in ink and gouache, which, the copyright page states, "means something totally different in the future." The restraint Harris shows is admirable; the text is kooky enough without excess high jinks in the illustrations. Instead, the visual humor has plenty of sly moments, sure to be appreciated on repeat visits. (The choice of typeface -- Eames Century Modern -- is an inspired touch.) Noses are mushrooms; the supermarket is known as the "BOLLY BOLLY HOO HOO"; and "instead of saying, 'Thank you,' we gently place a fish on another person's head." The narrator concludes with a future-speak story about a friendly interaction with a cashier at the bolly bolly hoo hoo. Then, sporting a fish on their head, the narrator bids readers farewell: "You smell like a baby!" The future is weird; buckle up. kitty flynnMarch/April 2026 p.45 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The future is now…and it's exceedingly silly. "This book is from the future." What are things like there? Barnett enlightens readers: "The sun is called the moon and the moon is called the sun." Readers learn that apples no longer exist (Barnett doesn't explain why), that lots of people are named "Charlie Cheese Face" ("There's an interesting reason why, but we don't have time for that story"), and that instead of "goodbye," people now say, "You smell like a baby!" The work closes with a ridiculous conversation between two characters who somehow manage to work in most of the new terms. This tale's raison d'être seems to be coming up with the goofiest alternatives to normal day-to-day terms and interactions. Barnett gets seriously silly as he thinks up gags ideal for reading aloud at storytime. As for Harris' art, aside from the occasional cool pair of sunglasses or hair dye, the future feels pretty early-21st-century; his colorful ink and gouache illustrations are rife with visual gags. Futuristic terms look as if they were printed on a label maker. Human characters vary in skin tone. It doesn't take a fortune teller to predict the laughter that will emanate from this world of tomorrow.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
