Arnie, the Doughnut
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
This ebook includes audio narration.
A deliciously imaginative story about friendship—from the author / illustrator of The Scrambled States of America.
Arnie was fascinated as he watched the customers stream into the bakery. One by one, doughnuts were chosen, placed in paper bags, and whisked away with their new owners. Some went by the dozen in giant boxes.
"Good-bye!" Arnie yelled to each doughnut. "Have a good trip!"
"This is so exciting!" Arnie beamed. "I wonder who will choose ME?"
At first glance, Arnie looks like an average doughnut—round, cakey, with a hole in the middle, iced and sprinkled. He was made by one of the best bakeries in town, and admittedly his sprinkles are candy-colored. Still, a doughnut is just a doughnut, right?
WRONG! Not if Arnie has anything to say about it. And, for a doughnut, he sure seems to have an awful lot to say. Can Arnie change the fate of all doughnuts—or at least have a hand in his own future? Well, you'll just have to read this funny story and find out for yourself. This title has Common Core connections
Arnie, the Doughnut is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Arnie, a chocolate-frosted with sprinkles, "knew that people all over town made special trips... to buy doughnuts of their very own." He reminisces fondly on the frying and cooling process that brought him into the world, and casually flirts with the apple fritter on the tray beside him. His na ve excitement suggests he does not realize his fate, confirmed by his comments after his purchase by Mr. Bing (" 'Why does he keep me in this bag?' Arnie wondered"). When Mr. Bing tries to eat his breakfast, the title character reacts in disbelief. Arnie, after a near escape, borrows a phone to "warn the others," and learns that his fellow doughnuts sacrifice themselves freely: "Yes, we know! We're delicious!" they shout. Failing to foment rebellion, Arnie, along with Mr. Bing, must decide what a doughnut is good for, other than eating (" 'I need a new bowling ball.' 'Well, don't look at me!' " Arnie retorts). As in her The Scrambled States of America, Keller packs the spreads with comical stage business and extemporaneous asides. Roly-poly doughnut holes make fun of a jelly-filled ("Eeeooo! His brains are oozing out!"), a bear claw growls, and a beret-wearing cruller teaches Arnie to speak French. The hero himself, with spindly arms and legs and a hole where his nose would be, clowns around in the margins. Like Chris Raschka's Arlene the Sardine, this witty book calls attention to the foods people take for granted; unlike vacuum-packed Arlene, Arnie takes destiny into his own hands, with vastly entertaining results. Ages 4-8.
