Toni, the perfect hostess, calls her friends and asks them to bring the goodies for a potluck dinner party. But when her guests arrive . . . Oh, no! Ruth was supposed to bring punch and lemonade—not a pooch and a maid! Kirk was supposed to bring hats and balloons—not cats and baboons! In fact, everyone’s brought something different, but there isn’t a speck of food in sight. And worse, everyone is extremely hungry. Maybe Toni’s instructions weren’t quite clear enough. . . .

Children will love running their finger along the continuous line illustrations in this silly spin on the favorite parlor game Telephone. Perfect for reading aloud, Toni’s Topsy-Turvy Telephone Day is a party no one will want to miss!

Amazon.com Review
Anyone who has ever played the telephone game knows what nonsense can emerge from a series of half-heard conversations. But one day, Toni's life is turned topsy-turvy through an inadvertent round of telephone! Upon deciding to throw a potluck party, Toni calls all her friends to tell them what to bring. Unfortunately, none of them can quite hear her requests: Ruth lives near the airport, Kirk baby-sits noisy babies, and Fiona lives next to the fire station. So instead of bringing bread and cheese, Ruth brings a bride and a niece. In place of salad and juice, Fiona comes with a sailor and a moose. "Oh no!" Toni cries, when Kirk shows up. "Hats and balloons, not cats and baboons!" Now, not only does she have no food, this hapless hostess has lots more guests than she counted on.

Laura Ljungkvist's hilarious tale, with striking, stylized illustrations made with layered drafting paper, fine markers, and gouache paint, will tickle the funny bones of readers of all ages. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 4 reviews)

Let's Play Telephone.....

Toni has decided to have a potluck party and calls six of her good friends on the phone, to tell them what to bring. Unfortunately, they all live or work in noisy environments and can't quite hear her instructions clearly. Ruth lives near the airport and instead of punch and lemonade brings a pooch and a maid. Vera, the dogwalker can't make out steak for kabob and brings a snake and a snob instead. Fiona was supposed to supply the salad and juice, but she lives by the fire station and brought a sailor and a moose. And so on... Now Toni has even more guests than she knows what to do with, and no food for her party. Her quick thinking and noisy friends solve the problem by calling and ordering pizza, but even the pizza man can't quite hear the order correctly..... Laura Ljungkvist has written a delightful and inventive story that anyone who has ever played the game of telephone will easily identify with. Her humorous text is only outdone by her amazingly creative and innovative illustrations, full of bold colors, geometric shapes and a telephone line that literally connects the entire assemblage from the beginning of the story to the end. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, Toni's Topsy Turvy Telephone Day is a winner the entire family will enjoy and is sure to have everyone giggling and laughing every time it's read.
June 18, 2001

herring and aquavit

Laura Ljungkvist's book is a winner with both my daughter and my cat. It is a very clever and engaging story (did she think this up on her own??) but also beautifully illustrated. I like the color development from start to finish. It is a very inventive and beautiful book. Its also very funny.
May 21, 2001

Great read

Our daughter (5 years) cannot get enough of this book. She loves for us to read it out loud, and to trace the illustrations with her finger.

The book is about Toni's potluck dinner party. She calls and asks her friends to bring things to her party, but every request is misunderstood and the story grows from there.

The wonderful illustrations consist of a single line. The colors are spectacular.
April 27, 2001

Two Great Books in One

This is book which deserves to be seen AND heard. Everyone remembers the classic game of "telephone," when a simple message whispered from one child to another gets garbled. Such is the inspiration for Laura Ljungkvist. Give a second look to her illustrations. Each twisted telephone cord curves about, making a variety of shapes. And the never-ending line connects every illustration from one page to another. This is a fascinating, fun book for ages 4-8.
April 20, 2001

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