Product Description

A burger and a hot dog

One day had a nasty spat.

The burger got insulted

'Cause the hot dog called him flat...

So what happened after that? Well, you'll have to look inside this book to find out. Because, you see, there is a whole world out there in which burgers, hot dogs, sticky buns, ice-cream bars, bologna, popcorn, and all sorts of other food folks exist together and do and go through all the daily stuff we all do. But it's only folks like Jim Aylesworth, together with artist Stephen Gammell, who can bring to us that world in a collection of hilarious rhymes and pictures. After all, what happens when a bunch of sugar cookies give a bagel a hard time, or an ice-cream bar gets stranded on a beach, or a couple of pickles go out dancing?...Well, come on in and see! And when you're done, try to invent some food folks of your own.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #606736 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-01
• Released on: 2001-10-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .41" h x 9.30" w x 10.26" l, .92 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Zany food rhymes and humorous portraits of bagels and bananas are the special of the day in this new collaboration from Aylesworth and Gammell (previously teamed for Old Black Fly). The 23 catchy verses feature personality-packed edible stars, dilemmas that turn on the food's trademark characteristics and loads of goofy puns. " `You're pretty!' said an orange/ To a lemon who seemed pleased./ `In fact, my dear, so pretty,/ You're at risk of getting squeezed!' " Gammell's fruits and vegetables resemble the California Raisins (to whom the book is dedicated), with tiny arms and legs and squished-together facial features particularly well-suited for registering surprise. He has even more fun rendering the personal crises of his subjects, painting rowdy cookies who disintegrate when they attack a bagel and gooey sticky cinnamon buns who cannot enjoy even the simplest pleasures of social interaction: " `We can't shake hands!' `No, never!'/ `Simple hugs just can't be done!'/ `And should we bump together,/ Oh, my, no, that's never fun!' " The chunky blocks of text share center stage with the smoothly paced images, enhancing the book's visual punch; brushstroked poem titles seem to drip along with the ketchup and mustard. Youngsters will enjoy finding out what the denizens of your neighborhood diner do after the waitresses turn out the lights and go home for the night. Ages 5-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Gr 2 Up-An uneven collection of humorous poems featuring foods such as a lemon so pretty she is in danger of getting squeezed, and a shy hard-boiled egg named Betty who is having difficulty coming out of her shell. Lines like "Two pickles went out dancing:/She a gherkin, he a dill" resound with a cadence reminiscent of Jack Prelutsky, but many others are awkwardly constructed. Take the case of an angel cake in Kansas who calls up her boyfriend, "`Come take me out to dinner,'/Is, in short, just what she said." There is some clever wordplay-the slogan of a band comprised of vegetables is: "The Band with a Beet," but a punch line relying on a reference to wax bananas will go over the heads of the intended audience. The exaggerated heads and distorted bodies give a Mr. Potatohead look to the food caricatures. The colored-pencil, watercolor, and pastel illustrations are effective in depicting various dripping and melting dishes, but the scatter-paint effect lends a frenetic feel to the art. This book may elicit chuckles and inspire some creative-writing efforts, but classic collections, such as William Cole's Poem Stew (Lippincott, 1981), contain better poetry.

Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 5-8. The rhymes are lame in this collection of poems, and some of the jokes will appeal more to adults than kids, but the combination of food and nonsense is irresistible and the words and pictures are loaded with puns. There's an overdressed pizza, an angel cake, and a shy hard-boiled egg that won't come out of her shell, even when she's invited to dance by a friendly French toast guy. Gammell's splashy watercolors wallow in the mess, whether it's a double-page spread of two smelly, lonely cheeses who fall in love, or as in the uproarious title poem, a hot dog insults a burger by calling him "flat," and the soda tells them both to stop it or "I will kick you in the buns!" After that, kids may be ready to take up Aylesworth's challenge on the last page and write their own food farce. Hazel Rochman
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