ALA Booklist (Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 1997)

for lap sharing. When Mother calls, Raymond is deep in his comic book. Procrastinator that he is, he hopes she'll forget she called. But when she doesn't, he tries a solution in keeping with his favorite pastime: It was a word comics always use to change the scene. MEANWHILE. And when he scrawls it on his wall, he's transported--first to a pirate ship, where he's made to walk the plank; next to the Wild West, where he's chased by a posse; and finally into outer space, where his ship is blown apart by Martians. And each time his situation seems hopeless, he uses the word to save the day--till the magic finally runs out and he must resort to even more forceful comic-book jargon: The End. Little ones will appreciate Feiffer's funny, freewheeling, action-packed artwork, which is cleverly laid out in comic-book fashion, complete with thought balloons. But it will be older kids who will really get the most out of this comic book put-on. They'll be the ones best equipped to spot the irony and appreciate the wit and the careful interplay between fantasy and reality; they'll also be the ones who sense the resemblance between Raymond's adventures and the escapades related in the syndicated strip Calvin and Hobbes. (Reviewed December 1, 1997)

Horn Book

As any comic book aficionado knows, 'meanwhile' is a useful stock term allowing for a quick change of scene so that the hero can escape from a dire predicament. Raymond, tired of his mother's commands, scrawls the word 'meanwhile' on his bedroom wall. The results are instantaneous and unexpected, and Raymond escapes from one dilemma into another in action-packed half-page scenes of the high seas, the Wild West, and outer space.

Kirkus Reviews

Ignoring his mother's increasingly irritated summonses, and noting that a boxed meanwhile'' in his comic books always signals a change of scene, Raymond tries writing the word on his bedroom wall—and drops into an exciting pirate adventure. Forced to walk the plank, he uses the trick again, and this time he's being chased by a posse. Things begin to spiral out of control; in the nextmeanwhile,'' his spacecraft is blown apart by Martians, then he's back on the plank, then facing a cougar . . . where will it end? Excitedly, he shouts, ``THE END!'' and then hurries out of his room to do whatever his mother bids. Feiffer (A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears, 1995, etc.) uses a watercolor comic-strip style for the illustrations, which are more simply drawn than his cartoons for adults; with few large panels per page, Raymond has ample space to express pop-eyed dismay in the face of flying bullets, toothy sharks, and other menaces. Children will chortle. (Picture book. 6-8)"

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3--This nonsensical story gives new meaning to the phrase "absorbed in a book." When Raymond's mom calls him, he ignores her, engrossed in his comic book. As she becomes more insistent, the boy notices a boxed word in the middle of the page: MEANWHILE.... If comic books can use a word to change scenes, why can't he? Raymond writes the word on the wall and is instantly transported to a pirate ship where he is forced to walk the plank. Escaping by writing the magic word with a quill provided by the maiden he rescues, he appears in the old West, where he escapes from a posse and a ferocious mountain lion; and outer space, where he survives an attack by an evil, two-headed Martian. He begins switching back and forth among the three desperate situations, always finding it more difficult to escape. Finally, he is hurtling through space straight into his own roof. Readers will laugh at his inventive solution, not to mention his change of heart toward his still-irate mother. Repeated phrases add humor to the story and invite participation. The revolving plots lend energy and a kid-appealing pace and keep the art exciting. Each scene takes on a completely new palette, giving children the sense of being immersed in new environments along with Raymond. Bold boxes and dialogue balloons give the story the look of a comic book. Frantic action and the clever theme make this a great read-aloud.--Lisa S. Murphy, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA