From Our Comments Fields: The Real Mathilda?

Somebody get that kid a hoop! This came in today from a few fans of Donald Barthelme's The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine.

"We stumbled across this book somewhere online and were intrigued by it's cover. I have four kids and my daughter was astonished because she wondered how they got HER picture on the cover! Our copy just arrived from Amazon yesterday and was delightful and refreshing to read! I am sure we'll be reading it many evenings to come. My daughter believes she is Mathilda, see their resemblance here. Oddly enough, my daughter has asked to go to China for a long time beacause we have friends there. This book makes her even more anxious to go! Thanks for bringing it back!"

THE SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR FIRE ENGINE in the WASHINGTON POST

Jabiri Asam gives great notice to Donald Barthelme's THE SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR FIRE ENGINE in the WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD.

"Barthelme, who died in 1989, chose 19th-century wood engravings to illustrate his fabulous fable, and they match his words perfectly. He has crammed the slender book with memorable characters, a story-within-the-story and flashes of "flawless flourishy footlooseness" that all but beg to be read aloud.

Mathilda's djinn describes their adventure as an escapade. That, he explains, is "something you didn't expect which surprises you, pleases you, and frightens you, all at once." Originally published in 1971, Overlook's facsimile edition should enchant a new generation of youngsters. There is nothing between these pages to frighten a child, but much that will surprise and please."

SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR FIRE ENGINE in PW Children's Bookshelf

PW's Sally Lodge gets the skinny on Overlook's re-issue of Donald Barthelme's National Book Award-winning THE SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR FIRE ENGINE from our beloved editor David Shoemaker. We've seen him jump up and down. It's pretty great.

The SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR FIRE ENGINE in NEWSWEEK

David Gates mentions Overlook's enterprising edition of Donald Barthelme's National Book Award-winning A SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR FIRE ENGINE in the November 27th issue of Newsweek! Mathilda is thrilled!