Bombastic Side-eye: Unreliable Narrators in Picture Books.

*[cross-posted on In The Writer’s Web]

I realized recently that two of my manuscripts have unreliable narrators. One is a “voice over”-type style, describing what’s (not actually) happening in the action on the page, and one is also omniscient but instead describing a character incorrectly. That character happens to be a potato, but that’s neither here nor there.

It got me thinking about this type of story and what other picture books have unreliable narrators. I really gravitate toward this kind of storytelling, because it’s often funny and can make for a great read-aloud. Kids LOVE correcting the reader and having the opportunity to feel like, for once, they know more than the adult.

An unreliable narrator can be an omniscient voice, but it can also be a character in the story – main protagonist or not. They can be unreliable for malicious or devious reasons, for silly reasons, or simply because they’re just wrong or don’t know any better. The thing they all have in common is that they cannot be trusted to give the full, correct picture of what’s happening.

So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite picture books with unreliable narrators:

Snappsy the Alligator Did Not Ask to Be In This Book by Julie Falatko and Tim Miller

An unreliable narrator (a chicken) follows Snappsy around describing things that Snappsy is decidedly NOT doing – like hunting defenseless bunnies or buying snacks for a party. Snappsy gets more and  more exasperated as he just wants to live his life, quietly.

A Unicorn, a Dinosaur and a Shark Walk Into a Book by Jonathan Fenske 

No, it’s not the start of a joke, although the book is seriously funny. The narrator tries to get the three creatures to make this the BEST BOOK EVER (I mean, c’mon, what’s better than a UNICORN, a DINOSAUR and a SHARK in one book) but they won’t do what that narrator asks. How will the narrator convince them?

The Panda Problem by Deborah Underwood and Hannah Marks

As the narrator explains to us right at the start, every good story has a problem. And, in this book, they insist, the panda is the one with the problem. Panda begs to differ. The narrator insists that the story must have a problem, though, so panda tries to invent some.

My Cat, the Silliest Cat in the World by Gilles Bachelet

The unseen narrator describes their silly cat, which, as one can clearly see from the book’s cover, looks suspiciously like an elephant.

How to Give Your Cat a Bath in 5 Easy Steps by Nicola Winstanley and John Martz

Anyone who has a cat knows there’s nothing easy about giving a cat a bath. Yet, the narrator insists it can be done, while the hapless child becomes increasingly frustrated as she tries, and fails, to get her cat into the bath.

Have You Seen Gordon? by Adam Jay Epstein and Ruth Chan

So, okay, this is cheating a little because in this story the narrator isn’t unreliable as much as the main character, Gordon, is uncooperative. This is ostensibly a seek-and-find book, but Gordon refuses to make himself hard to find. He prefers to stand out.

These are just a few of the picture books with unreliable narrators that are in the world. Which ones do you love? Sound off in the comments so we’ve all got a great list!