MR. MISCHIEViOUS, the neighborhood recluse, finally gets bored of being cooped up in his house, and decides to one day, share his 'talents' upon his unsuspecting neighborhood!
Excerpt
There lived a man they called Mr. Mischievious,
Who had an agenda that was quite devious.
He wasn't a crook and he never was thievious.
He just did odd things that no one could concievious.
Professional Reviews
Reviewed By Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite
The Devious Mr. Mischievious is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Scott Schafer. No one in town really knew very much about Mr. Mischievious. He lived by himself with his little dog, and basically minded his own business. One day, however, he decided that he needed a change. He was tired of doing his odd little things just in his house and keeping himself to himself. He was going to go out into the world, well, into the neighborhood actually, and start doing things outside. He got really busy, painting mailboxes, grass, flowers, and just about anything one could imagine. He started pruning bushes and trees, and putting patterns into things. Suddenly, the neighborhood was awash in colors and shapes such as no one had ever seen before. And when his neighbors did come home, they weren't at all pleased with what they were seeing. They couldn't believe their eyes! They were going to make the reclusive Mr. Mischievious sorry he'd ever decided to do what he did.
Scott Schafer's children's picture book, The Devious Mr. Mischievious, is disarming, clever, and very very funny. Adults who are all too often bored with their selection of reading material for story time will probably find themselves suggesting this book whenever it's their turn to tell a story. Mr. Mischievious is filled with zany and silly ideas on how to decorate the neighborhood, and I couldn’t wait to see what he came up with next -- even if I did cringe a bit when he dumped that paint into the swimming pool. Schafer's verse has a rhythm reminiscent of rhyming limericks, complete with the same quirky flavor, but none of the off-color humor. Instead, he imbues the classic verse form with brightly colorful humor as he celebrates the imagination and the magic of play. The Devious Mr. Mischievious offers readers an entirely new way of looking at the everyday world, and it's a grand place to visit. It's also a marvelous introduction to art and the imagination for children, and is an excellent primer for new readers. This inspirational and enjoyable picture book is most highly recommended.
Reviewed By Joel R. Dennstedt for Readers’ Favorite
There is nothing easy about writing a really good children’s book. The rules are fairly simple: be concise, be unique, be imaginative. The implementation is extremely difficult, however, and the ultimate goal is agonizingly elusive: captivate the child. As a bonus, make the eager young reader laugh at least once. Perhaps most important of all, make the words and the artwork play together in a piece with perfect harmony. In his children’s book The Devious Mr. Mischievious, Scott Schafer has created a marvelously unique and artful story designed to engage and enthrall his young fans, and he does offer up that most evasive of elusive products: a good children’s book.
In The Devious Mr. Mischievious, Scott Schafer’s artwork is noticeably superior to his rhymes, which are amusing and entertaining, if sometimes a little forced beyond a perfectly rhythmic meter. While enjoying these simple poetic waves, however, a child will become more absorbed by the wonderful details of Mr. Schafer’s intriguing pictures. These simple pictures truly are marvelous depictions showing the life of a very odd and eccentric man. There is much here to make the child smile, and even laugh at the craziness going on, especially as the deeds of Mr. Mischievious the artist literally spill over onto the minor characters – one of which, by the way, has pupils in its eyes. You will have to see why that is most unusual. The plot winds down with a final joke meant more to worry presupposing parents than to titillate their less worldly-minded kids, who will probably miss it altogether. And a tiny, tiny spoiler: the dog kind of steals the show.
Reviewed By Jessyca Garcia for Readers’ Favorite
My daughter and I absolutely loved The Devious Mr. Mischievious by Scott Schafer. Mr. Mischievious is known as the town oddball who never leaves his house. One day he decides to venture outside. That is when he decides to paint the town all different colors and change the way people see things. I chose to read The Devious Mr. Mischievious with my 4-year-old daughter. Not only did she enjoy it immensely, but so did I. Schafer has done a great job at writing a story that is hilarious and unpredictable. You never know what Mr. Mischievious will do when you turn the page. The story is written in rhyme and flows very nicely. The wording in the story is not too difficult and my daughter was able to read most of it by herself.
The illustrations are colorful and interesting enough that my daughter would spend a long time staring at each page. I also liked looking at the illustrations and seeing all the different things Mr. Mischievious did. My daughter’s favorite parts of the story were when Mr. Mischievious painted the cats and when his dog had a mustache painted on him. I thought the end of the book was pretty funny when Mr. Mischievious opened his coat. I was happy that Schafer made Mr. Mischievious clean up his messes. This is a message I need to my child to learn! Overall, this book was awesome-ous! Because my daughter liked it so much, I plan on keeping this story in my collection and reading it often at bedtime. I hope to read more of Schafer’s work in the future.
Shifty Characters, invites early readers into the world of change from a lyrical, language arts point of view. These shifty characters have the ability to reposition and re-invent themselves without adding or omitting a single letter. They go about t
