All questions answered by my 4 year old

Do you like this book?
No, because they are just mean to him!

What's your favorite part of the book?
When he goes exploring! And he makes a house under the sink. Can I live under the sink?

What do you think of the cover?
There's an elephant

Do you want me to read it again?
No...

We received this book from Netgalley for a review, and it was a little hard to read on the kindle. The words were messed up, and I feel like there were points where they missed words because it just didn't make any sense.

But to the book...
This book was kind of sad. This little creature's entire family calls him ugly basically. They say "He's no beauty" so much he thinks his name is Hiznobyuti. It's so sad. They are all mean and rude to him and he's sad. Honestly, it made me really upset.

The story is good though and the artwork is adorable.

I think this is supposed to be a fable or a fairy tale. I love those things, but this book is just sad. And it doesn’t really cheer up.

Hīznobyūtī is an 'ugly duckling’ reweaving by French children's author Claude Ponti. When he is hatched, Hīznobyūtī didn't look like his family at all. He had a tiny trunk instead of a snout. They said 'he’s no beauty’ enough times that Hīznobyūtī thought it was his name. As he grew older, he realised he didn't look like the others in his family. He tried different things to blend in. He created masks to hide his face, but it didn't work. He always felt underfoot, or in the way, even when going out of his way to be alone and quiet. Hīznobyūtī finally decided to live under the sink, away from everyone, and they forgot about him. He was alone, save for Martin Clock. Eventually, he created a cozy home for himself underground. After a time, he and Martin leave to go explore, meeting all manner of folk, and helping those in need. His travels led him back to the beginning, where he found finally found acceptance. Most importantly, Hīznobyūtī learned that he was good enough in himself, and he needed no one else's approval to be happy.

This is translated from French, and recalled to my mind The Little Prince. There's definitely a great deal of cultural influence that cannot be directly translated. There's a harshness in how Hīznobyūtī’s family treated him, acting as if he weren't even part of the family. Yet, despite that, he persevered and learned that his own approval was all he needed. There are themes of resilience and going with the flow. In the end, all worked out for Hīznobyūtī! It is a marvelous glimpse into how a different culture perceives things as well, and this can be a great talking point with children if you are working with cultural awareness. I find that a great skill to pass on from a young age. My cubs loved this book, and the lessons offered. Great addition to any bookshelf!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Archipelago for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was such a bizarre little picture book by famous French author and illustrator Claude Ponti. Hiznobyuti (named such because his family constantly told him that "he's no beauty") runs away from home after being abused by his family and runs into several fantastical creatures. The story was fast paced, made little sense, yet still had me mesmerized.

This is an excerpt of a review that was originally published on my website: <a href="https://www.missjennysclassroom.com/2018/02/hiznobyuti-book-review.html">Miss Jenny's Classroom</a>

Hiznobyuti (pronounced he’s no beauty) is an outcast in his family. He isn’t like them at all and they treat him dreadfully. One day Hiznobyuti decides to make his own little home with Martin Clock, a friend he makes after he repairs him. The two eventually set off on an adventure together to find who is communiphoning with them.

I was so looking forward to reading Hiznobyuti. I haven’t read the original in French but I’m going to say straight-off-the-bat that something of the story got lost in translation. Translation, especially from French to English, seems to always come out soundly a little clunky or child-like from my experience with books I have read that have gone through the process.

My main issue with the story is that it goes on…and on…and on…similar to reading one of your student’s story writing attempts where each sentence begins with “And then…”. This is compounded by the high page count (in my opinion) of the book for the target audience. To start with the story does have a beginning – we meet Hiznobyuti and his family and they treat him horribly just because of how he looks but this isn’t something actually dealt with in the story. After Hiznobyuti is forced out of home (has his adventure) and then returns, suddenly he is treated as if he is the favourite child. There is no consequence for their treatment of Hiznobyuti.

There were many moments in the story where I was just lost – such as the ‘black cold’ – which Hiznobyuti has apparently always had but not mentioned – that suddenly appeared to save the day. And then at the end with going to find a princess…there is just too much going on in the storyline to make it make sense…and no real ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and Archipelago Books for providing me with a free copy to review.

What in the world is a communophone? And how do you pronounce the title?
This book was all over the place, a little trippy, and not really my favorite.

So this is an interesting one. I read most of it as Okilele, in French, and there's something about it that I prefer. A little of the translation I found a bit clunky, but it's solid for the most part. The artwork is pretty fantastic. It's original, but there is something so familiar about it... I don't mean that it reminds me of something. I mean that it just looks classic -- like it's always been around. Some might find the storyline with the family and their weird-looking kid a bit disturbing. French stories and songs are often a bit darker. There are some genuine laughs throughout.

This interesting book tells the story of Hiznobyuti (he's no beauty). When Hiznobyuti is born, he gets his moniker from the first thing that was said. He appears different from his family because of his trunk-like nose. His family treats him poorly and he withdraws more. My heart broke when his father bricked him inside his under the sink hiding hole. Feeling totally ostracized, he sets out on a journey to learn to communicate with every other thing in the universe. Through his journey he finds himself and ultimately his way back home to his family. They have fallen on hard times since he left. He is able to forgive and offer them compassion, which seems to benefit everyone in the end.

The illustrations are interesting and will appeal to elementary children. They have a comic book feel to them even as the book has more of a philosophical fairy tale feel.

Great art and a nice story in this children's book.

Hiznobyuti is a fun and inspirational story but it is also quite sad at times and may be quite stressing to some. Hiznobyuti was born with a facial feature and treated differently by his family because of this as he didn't look the same as them. The story teaches young kids and adults alike that just because someone looks different doesn't mean they are worth any less. It also reminds of the need to be kind, compassionate and most especially, to be forgiving.

I read this book and felt a horror. The father wanted to lock the child up in a brick wall because he wasn't as good looking as the rest of the family? I read some other reviews by reviewers who grew up with this French author, and they felt that he was quite loving. The only think I can compare this to is perhaps The Ugly Duckling, who was also treated badly by his family, and kicked out, the way that Hiznobyuti is. (His name is how you string together "he's no beauty")

I wouldn't call it whimsical, as some reviewers have. To me it is bizarre. He makes friends with an alarm clock that was also abused, and goes off to find, someone or something, and meets other things and creatures, and when he goes home is family is devastated, and he helps them rebuild their house, then goes on his down from there.

I think I am missing something in the translation. or perhaps I am an old ruddy-daddy. Three stars because he really is a strange, cut creature, even if he is abused.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

After "My Valley", from the same creator, which was just beautiful nonsense, we have this, which is even more nonsensical, but does actually manage to hold on to its imagination enough to provide a narrative. A weird alien thing who is much unloved by his family befriends an alarm clock and goes exploring when he gets the message he is wanted by a a mysterious someone or something elsewhere. The art is great - witness that bridge monster on anything other than a kindle and you're well away. It's just you can't help feeling the story is too 60s and druggy to really go down well these days. Yes, the moral is there, and the word play and wackiness, but it could well be too much. Still, of the two I'd go for this volume any day.