Susan Stevens Crummel

Picking up where the traditional nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle leaves off, sisters Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel explore the further story of Dish and Spoon, who disappear after a reading of their rhyme, leaving Cat, Cow and Dog in the lurch. Determined to track down the missing pair, Cat rouses his sleepy bovine and canine friends, and the trio sets out, aided by Fork's map, to search the nursery rhyme world. Visiting Little Boy Blue at his haystack, Little Miss Muffet's show more cottage, and the Big Bad Wolf's cabin in the forest, they get into and out of scrapes, eventually finding themselves at Jack's beanstalk, where they discover that the renegade pieces of tableware are in over their heads. When disaster strikes, and Dish is broken in many pieces, what will the companions do? Could the nursery rhyme about Humpty-Dumpty hold any clues...?

Chosen as one of the February selections in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme was "Fractured Nursery Rhymes," And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon is an inventive take on a traditional children's poem. I liked the way that the authors brought in other nursery rhyme and fairy-tale characters, and enjoyed the revisionist rhymes presented as part of each chapter of the adventure: "With a curd and a whey and a dickory day, / they set out for Miss Muffet's place - / the cat with the fiddle, the cow who could jump, / and the dog with a scowl on her face." That said, I don't know that the artwork really appealed to me that much - there isn't anything wrong with it, it simply wasn't to my taste. The Stevens' book was enjoyable, but taken altogether, I think I prefer Mini Grey's somewhat sharper retake on this rhyme, The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon. show less

In the same vein as Dr. Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School, Help Mr, Mr. Mutt! is hilarious and deserving of an older audience. Mr. Mutt has a humorous advice column for dogs with "people problems." The dog whose owner dresses him up complains,

"Dear Mr. Mutt,
It's ridiculous!
Outrageous!
Preposterous!
Holidays are unbearable. First I'm a baby, next I'm a bunny, then I'm a bride, now I'm an angel....Where is my dignity?.....
--Overdressed in Oklahoma
P.S. My people never dress up the show more cantankerous cat!"

Mr. Mutt offers humorous advice to each writer and adds a "dig" at cats in each reply. The cat, known as The Queen, responds indignantly to each letter.

The illustrations alternate between depictions of letters from distressed pooches, answers on the official letterhead of Mr. Mutt, Canine Counselor, and irate responses from The Queen on her regal pink stationary, The Queen Speaks. Graphs, charts, "photos," and scenes from Mr. Mutt's studio will keep readers in stitches.

The story ends with newspaper accounts, "DOGS INVADE DOGWOOD!" and "CATastrophe!"

This book is funny on many levels and deserves a second, third and even a fourth look. The dust jacket offers a list of things to look for in the book, including numeric palindromes, actual dog hair, and paper clips. Now I'm going to have to read it again! show less

Ages 3-7

The Great Fuzz Frenzy is wonderfully kooky. A tennis ball rolls down into a prairie dog den, first confounding its residents, who then decide to use its fuzz to adorn themselves. The Great Fuzz Frenzy commences and all hell breaks loose. The illustrations are hilarious and the vocabulary is expressive.

The story of The Great Fuzz Frenzy actually starts on the endpapers and title page as we see Violet, a dog, drop her tennis ball down a prairie dog hole. While readers will recognize the fuzzy ball for what it is, the prairie dogs have no idea what this strange object is or does, until Pip Squeak, the smallest prairie dog gets up the courage to touch it and brings away a bit of fuzz starting the frenzy. Refreshingly this does not become a story of how the somewhat bullying Big Bark gets his show more comeuppance, but how he finds a good place in the prairie dog community. The illustrations of the prairie dogs dressed up in fuzz are priceless; Crummel produced them using mixed media on watercolor paper. While the fold out horizontally oriented spreads evoke how deep the prairie dog warren is, they make this a difficult story time choice as the book will need to be reoriented several times. The text which is both funny and well-suited to being read aloud with plenty of rhymes and alliteration makes reading the story aloud worth the extra effort. The final endpaper of Violet with another tennis ball, this one orange, could be a great opening to get kids discussing what they think will happen if she drops this one down the prairie dog hole. show less