Let's Go Swimming with Mr. Sillypants

Book excerpt: A silly, whimsical book about dreaming and getting over one's fears by a celebrated American cartoonist and illustrator. Mr. Sillypants is going to learn how to swim tomorrow. He’s excited! It’s about time. But he starts to get nervous. “What if I step on a fish?” He asks his goldfish. “What if all the other people in the class are better than I am?” He says aloud as he makes his favorite bedtime snack, a pickle and peanut butter sandwich. By the time he goes to bed, Mr. Sillypants is not sure swimming lessons are such a good idea after all. When Mr. Sillypants falls asleep, he dreams he’s out for a walk, when he suddenly plummets into a big pond. “I can’t swim!” he yells. Soon though, his worries about swimming are far from his mind: he morphs into a fish, and chases after deep sea sandwiches and flees from an enormous pickle monsters. The next morning, Mr. Sillypants wakes up with a start—maybe his swimming lessons are going to be okay after all. Told with warm humor and illustrated with stunning watercolors, M. K. Brown has crafted a hilarious adventure out of an everyday fear. This silly-looking man can teach us all how to conquer scary things by laughing right at them.