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Loading... The Terrible Eekby Patricia A. Compton
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This book starts off with a father and son having a conversation about what they are most scared of, which are a thief, a wolf, and a terrible leak. But, the thief hears the words as a terrible "EEK" and the wolf does not know what a leak is, so they both assume it is a creature. Through their fear, they go away from the house and remained frightened throughout the night. Through them talking about things, other animals head of the terrible eek and also become just as frightened. I think this book was very funny and could be very funny to a group of young children. It reminded me of the game "telephone" we used to play when I was younger, and it was always so funny to see how jumbled the original sentence or story ended up. This story begins with moments that could scare younger children, but those thoughts are quickly resolved when the father mentions a terrible leek which in turn rids their house of danger. This story showcases folklore containing talking beasts, as the animals can speak. The story quickly came to light and the problem was completely resolved at the end with the boy in his family safely tucked into bed, safe and sound. no reviews | add a review
A father's fear of the terrible leak ultimately saves him from a thief and wolf. No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)398.2Social sciences Customs, Etiquette, Folklore Folklore Folk literatureLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Published in 1991, The Terrible Eek appears to be author Patricia A. Compton's only book, although illustrator Sheila Hamanaka has many other titles to her credit, as both author and artist. I had not heard of either creator when picking up this title, which I sought out due to my interest in folklore. On the whole, I found the telling only moderately engaging, as I kept expecting to feel more amused than I did. Perhaps I simply wasn't in the right frame of mind for this kind of comedy of errors. I was also quite disappointed to find that there was no note of any kind, either within the book or on the dust-jacket, to indicate the source of this tale, as this is something I always look for with folkloric retellings. Given this response, this might have been a two-star book for me, had I not found Hamanaka's oil painting illustrations so arresting. I don't know if I'd call them beautiful, but they were certainly expressive, and very interesting to look at. I'll have to see if I can track down more of her work. As for this one, although the telling didn't make a particularly strong impression on me, tastes vary, so I would still recommend it to young folklore enthusiasts, or picture book audiences who enjoy humorous tales. ( )