Melvin the Mouth

K-Gr 2—Mel Blanc, aka the "Man of a 1,000 Voices," is the star of this rollicking, exuberant picture book biography. Melvin, who was born in 1908, is depicted here dressed in a suit with short pants and a tie. He's first seen terrorizing his cat and laughing like Woody Woodpecker before insisting to his parents that he's a dragon. His imaginary ink-drawn dragon looms over him. At school, he can't sit still and makes noises wherever and whenever he pleases, earning himself trash duty for recess and a "speeding ticket." His classmates aren't sure what to make of him. At home, his supportive yet exhausted parents try to rein him in. But chores turn disastrous as the large-headed, bug-eyed youngster simply cannot be contained. The illustrations combine watercolor and ink drawings and Adobe Photoshop, along with hand-lettered sound effects that swoop and swirl across spreads that contain fun period details. While much of the narrative is fictionalized, a short biographical note follows.