Twice as Silly (Ling and Ting Series)

by Grace Lin

Overview

Ling and Ting like to be silly in the fourth book in this irresistible early reader series.


The beloved twins from the Geisel Honor early reader series are back to share their favorite funny stories with beginning readers, now in paperback. This collection of six laugh-out-loud stories is sure to tickle the funny bone of fans and new readers alike. Kirkus writes about the series, "These twins make learning to read double the fun."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316184038
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Series:	Ling and Ting Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Grace Lin is the Newbery Honor and bestselling author and illustrator of Starry River of the Sky, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, The Year of the Dog, The Year of the Rat, Dumpling Days, and Ling & Ting. Grace is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and lives in Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

*"A winning addition to a delightfully fun series."—School Library Journal (starred review)

"These twins make learning to read double the fun."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

One in a series on twins Ling and Ting, these six silly stories follow them on six different adventures. Ling and Ting look alike and like doing everything together. Designed for early readers, the six short chapters include a story about planting cupcakes, painting toys with red paint, swinging very high at the playground, picking apples from a tree, reading minds and writing a story using ideas from the previous five chapters. Each chapter provides plenty of dialogue between Ling and Ting with one twin usually doing an activity and the other twin questioning her about it. They enjoy challenging each other. In the last chapter, they work together to create a new story that uses ideas from previous chapters. The illustrations show early readers how the story was created. Limited and redundant vocabulary, as well as the vintage-looking cartoon-like drawings, provides clues for early readers. These are truly silly stories that make little sense but that youngsters will probably find engaging. They just might encourage reading. Reviewer: Meredith Kiger, Ph.D.; Ages 5 to 7.

Children's Literature - Meredith Kiger

★ 11/01/2014
PreS-Gr 1—Those irrepressible twins are back with more sweetly goofy antics in a third installment of the easy reader series. Six short chapters deliver on the title's promise; each episode unfolds with pitch-perfect comedic timing, ending with a chuckle-worthy (and decidedly silly) punch line. From forays into gardening (Will cupcakes grow if planted like seeds?) to musing about how high they can swing (Higher than a tree that goes into outer space!), the girls' lives are grounded in realistic childhood experiences, embellished with their creative imaginings. Lin helps emergent readers tell the difference through clever visual cues; the pretend and "what if" scenarios are distinguished by squiggly frames. As in the first two books, the gouache illustrations pop with vibrant color and texture. Lin's images help support the text, while extending the humor with subtle details in facial expressions and body language. Though each chapter can be enjoyed on its own, the various threads come together in the last chapter when the sisters co-create their own story—a book within the book. Fans of Ling and Ting will be delighted to see a few nods to previous adventures, while new readers will want to get to know these funny sisters better. A winning addition to a delightfully fun series. —Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2014-10-01
Adorable twin sisters Ling and Ting are as funny and fresh as ever in their third early reader. In "The Garden," the first of six short episodes, Ting plants some now-ubiquitous cupcakes, hoping to grow more. When Ling explains that only seeds will grow, Ting asks if beans are seeds. After Ling confirms that indeed beans are seeds, Ting amusingly responds, "Then next I will plant jelly beans." The humor continues throughout the accessible text as the girls try to swing higher than trees, come up with an inventive plan to pick apples and discover that, as twins, they can read minds (it helps that Ting is "thinking nothing"). "Lucky Red Paint" reflects the girls' Chinese heritage when they paint their toys red, because the color is considered lucky in China. Finally, "Not a Silly Story" is a clever—and definitely silly—story that recaps elements of the previous five narratives. Ling and Ting take turns telling a story featuring two rabbits, a cupcake tree, a lucky red toy and mind reading. In addition, this culminating story depicts printed, childlike text on lined paper that will be familiar to most school-aged children. Once again Ling and Ting are not exactly the same, as Lin's vibrant, patterned gouache illustrations reflect their subtle and not-so subtle differences. These twins make learning to read double the fun. (Early reader. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews