Mumps Mania

A boy is sick, and he cannot go to school. He cannot leave his house, he cannot leave his bed: "The Doctor came, he said real slow: IF YOU WANT/ THOSE MUMPS /TO GO/ YOU HAVE TO STAY /IN BED YOU KNOW!" Not this kid! He's having none of it. He keeps escaping, and on each breakout from the suffocating prison walls of his antiseptic bedroom, his crated countenance keeps getting more bizarre, to the puzzlement of the characters he meets along the way, even the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park! Wild things happen in this cumulative, rhyming crescendo, as the Doctor gets Sued, the Media has a Blast, and there is no end in sight to the horrific state of the kid's "bumpy" condition. SCIENTIFIC and MUMPSTERIFIC meet in a hilarious mixture of robotic and zombie juxtaposition as he ends up in Close Encounters of the Virus Kind! How to get out of this one is a futuristic and common sense grid of its own! Illustrated with numerous cartoony washes, and written in Geraldine Ryan-Lush's award-winning, trademark poetic style, this energetic read-aloud is not only an exceptional learn-to-read tool, but the adventurous streak of its timeless escapade serves as the ultimate GREAT ESCAPE from any health woes, especially the worries of the New World Normal! AUTHOR BIO: Geraldine Ryan-Lush holds a B. A. (ED) from Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in English Language and Literature. Prior to her writing career, she was a classroom teacher, and print columnist for The Evening Telegram and the NL Herald. She is the prolific and multi-award-winning author of 18 books, ranging from picture books and junior novels, to young adult and adult. She is also a celebrated poet, with a collection of adult poetry to her credit. She is also author of numerous scholarly articles on the children's literature field, published in sources as Books In Canada, Canadian Children's Literature, and NL Quarterly. Her books, some in French translation, have been reviewed in prestigious sources as School Library Journal, New York, Canadian Book Review Annual, Canadian Children's Literature, Quill & Quire, The Toronto Star, Copley News Services, Washington, D. C., London Free Press, The Observer, Montreal, Winnipeg Free Press, Canadian Materials, P. R. Underground, U. S., and a plethora of other sources in the literary and popular stance. Her Awards and Honours for her books include American Bookseller's Pick of the Lists, Merit Magazine Studio Award, Alcuin Society Design Award, Readers' Favourite 5-Star (A review source honored by the American Library Association), twice, Atlantic Books Today Editors' Pick, Major Canada Council For The Arts Grant and Major Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Grant Awarded for her Malcolm K. Wall series of novel for 7-12 year-olds. She is the recent 3-Times Winner of the Canada Book Award, for her YA novel THE GRAVEL PIT KIDS, the adult contemporary novel SEASHELL'S LAMENT, and the folklore-themed rhyming tale GOODBYE WART. Born and raised in St. Joseph's, Newfoundland, she resides in Mt. Pearl.