Today is Friday and time to review another book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
Snip Snap! What’s That?
Written by Mara Bergman
Illustrated by Nick Maland
Greenwillow Books 2005
Ages: 3-8
Themes: Overcoming fear, alligators
Synopsis: (from Booklist) In this offbeat fantasy, an alligator makes his way down the street, through the front door, up the stairs, and into an apartment where three children flee from his gaping jaws. Finally, when they have endured the threat–or perhaps enjoyed the thrill–long enough, they turn the tables by yelling at the beast, who runs away.
Opening: When the alligator came creeping…creeping… creeping up the stairs…were the children scared? YOU BET THEY WERE!
Resources: Click HERE and scroll down to see an easy-to-make alligator. HERE are instructions to make an alligator refrigerator magnet. Click HERE for fun facts about alligators.
Why I Like This Book: The rhythm and rhyme and repetition are irresistible and make for a really fun read aloud. It’s scary…but not too scary. And it’s scary in a funny, suspenseful way that will appeal to children. Mara Bergman uses onomatopoeia perfectly. Just read this line: It swishhhhhhed and swoooooshed its tremendous tail, which was shiny and spiked and full of scales. The illustrations lend to the suspense. They make the alligator look very large and the children look very small. The ending is humorous and satisfying.
Susanna Leonard Hill features Perfect Picture Book Friday on her blog. This is a wonderful resource if you are wondering what books to give as gifts, needing material for a lesson, or just looking for a great book to read. Here is a list of books by category. Each book listed has a link to a review, information about that book, and resources for activities. There is also an alphabetical list.
I love this review! You give us what it’s about, scare factor, etc. Excellent! Are you connected with Stacy S. Jensen? She does PiBo and Perfect Picture Books too. You can find her easy via Google.
Hi, Karen,
Yes I am connected and actually met her in person this past fall at the Rocky Mountain SCBWI conference in Denver. Stacy is great!
Thanks for stopping by and reading my review. Glad that you like it :-)
Great! :D I like the cover and lines from the book you quoted! :)
Thanks, Eric. Those lines reflect the mood of the entire book!
Sounds like a great read aloud. Off to the library website I go. Thanks
You’ll love it Sandi! It’s a great read aloud with repetition that encourages kids to join in.
That language looks lovely. I can’t wait to check this one out.
It’s one of those where you can see how important it is that you choose every word carefully to make your story the best it can be.
Oh yes! I remember this one – terrific!
I hadn’t read it before so I was delighted when I chose it off the shelves at the library. I love it when I find a real treasure in the stack I bring home :-)
Me too, like finding sea glass next to your big toe when the water recedes!
This sounds so delightful, Penny! It reminds me just a teensy bit of Lyle with his swish, splash, swoosh :) I will have to go check it out faster than creeping creeping creeping :)
I haven’t read that one. I did a google search and found Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber….so I added that to my list. I’m hoping that’s the one you’re referring to. I believe you will love Snip, Snap!
Penny..I LOVE this book…thank you so much for sharing it! The rhyme looks PERFECT and I’m always looking for books that help kids overcome fears.:)
I am at my son’s computer in Chicago…and unable to comment on Susanna’s blog or post one, so I will have to miss putting up an entry for PPBF, but will try to get around to read and comment on everyone else’s…Happy New Year, Penny!
Oh! I hope you’re enjoying your visit in Chicago! Thanks for stopping by. Happy New Year to you, too!
That sounds adorable, Penny! :0)
It is adorable, Catherine. I think it will be right up your alley and I can see your kids enjoying it!
I love rhyming books! This one looks great! I like the swishhhhhing and swooooshing! Great! And the illustrations look clever too! Thanks for sharing this one. I’ll be checking it out!
Technically, it’s not a rhyming book, but it has a lot of rhyming words sprinkled throughout. The illustrations are a perfect match for the text….one of those picture books done brilliantly!
It’s interesting how each week there are similiar themes in the selections of book reviews. This sounds very funny and a great way to address fear with humor. Also like the rhyme. Great choice!
I haven’t made my way around to all of the selections for this week. But, I have noticed that other weeks and it is interesting. Thanks for stopping by, Pat.