Pass the Fritters, Critters

by Cheryl Chapman, Susan L. Roth (Illustrator)

Overview

Cheryl Chapman's playful nonsense rhyme, coupled with Susan L. Roth's bold and colorful art, turns a lesson in manners into a yummy storytime treat.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416961604
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	08/27/2007
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

Editorial Reviews

If Miss Manners swallowed a rhyming dictionary, she might have produced this spirited seminar on lunchtime etiquette. A boy at table issues a series of requests--``Pass the cantaloupe, Antelope,'' ``Pass the muffin, Puffin,'' etc.--but he is refused each time. Finally, an adult reminds him that there's a ``magic word,'' which, of course, is ``please.'' The banquet then begins, and the boy dispels all doubts about his courtesy with such pleasantries as ``After you, Kangaroo.'' Roth's cut-paper collages, far more suggestive here than in Another Christmas , add to the zaniness with gay swaths of color and festive touches (the fritters of the title seem to have been cut out with pinking shears; a bunny and a bear are fringed to hint at their furriness; napkins and bibs come from checkerboard-print paper). Best of all is the presiding adult, so large that when she appears full-figure, you have to turn the book sideways--and you still can't see her head. Like the rest of these pictures, it shows enough to make the reader laugh and it leaves just enough to the imagination. Ages 3-5. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

PreS-K-- Bunny won't pass the honey, parrot won't pass the carrot, etc. In rhyming text, various critters refuse to pass the fritters until a mother asks for the secret word (please)--then spider passes the cider, etc. The cut-paper collage illustrations are bright and colorful, cleverly laid out, and effective in conveying the concept of manners. The message won't be lost on young readers because it's cloaked in a fun story. --Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, NY

School Library Journal