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Summary
Summary
Even frustrated grammarians will giggle at the who's-on-first routine that begins with a donkey's excited announcement, "I yam a donkey!" Unfortunately the donkey's audience happens to be a yam, and one who is particular about sloppy pronunciation and poor grammar. An escalating series of misunderstandings leaves the yam furious and the clueless donkey bewildered by the yam's growing (and amusing) frustration. The yam finally gets his point across, but regrettably, he's made the situation a little bit too clear . . . and the story ends with a dark and outrageously funny twist.
Author Notes
Cece Bell is the author-illustrator of several books for children, including El Deafo, an autobiographical graphic novel. She is also the illustrator of Crankee Doodle , written by her husband, Tom Angleberger. She lives in Virginia. Visit her website at www.cecebell.com .
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Newbery Honoree Bell (El Deafo) creates a laugh-out-loud dialogue in the tradition of "Who's on First?" or Lane Smith's It's a Book. "I yam a donkey!" a googly-eyed donkey proclaims. A bespectacled yam objects. "What did you say? `I yam a donkey?' The proper way to say that is `I am a donkey.' " "You is a donkey, too?" the donkey asks. "You is a funny-looking donkey." The yam tries to educate the donkey, while the donkey demonstrates only hopeless thickheadedness. The appearance of a carrot, a turnip, and some green beans allows the yam to review conjugations of the verb "to be." The donkey, however, spies a meal. "Oh!" he cries, finally getting it. "You is lunch!" In a linguistic landscape where literally can mean figuratively and flammable and inflammable are interchangeable, Bell's story celebrates the idea that language changes, and pedants who can't adapt will be left in the dust (or in a donkey's belly). The ending sends a message that any child can endorse: "If you is going to be eaten, good grammar don't matter." Ages 4-8. Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
I yam a donkey, declares a self-aware donkey on the title page. Not so fast. The grammar police arrive in the form of a bespectacled yam. What did you say? I yam a donkey? The proper way to say that is I am a donkey. Thus begins a whos-on-first? type routine (You is a donkey, too? You is a funny-looking donkey) between the dopey donkey and the increasingly indignant yam. When a turnip, a carrot, and some green beans appear on the scene, it allows the yam to bloviate on the topic of verb conjugation: I am. You are. He is. She is. They are. We are. Donkey: Is you trying to tell me that I yam not the only donkey here? That you and all them other critters is donkeys, too? I need to get my eyes checked! The wordplay is kid-pleasingly silly with a tiny whiff of sophistication: you have to know what a yam is in order to get the joke, for example, and also have a rudimentary grasp of grammar. Bells (Crankee Doodle, rev 5/13; El Deafo, rev. 11/14) china marker and acrylic illustrations use panels, frames, single pages, double-page spreads, and word bubbles to mix things up visually; with their simple shapes and thick outlines, they look, deceptively, like something a kid could doodle in class (Bell dedicates the book to two real good teachers). That dumb donkey turns the tables at the end, and children will never hear eat your vegetables the same way again. elissa gershowitz (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
A bespectacled yam and a donkey engage in a protracted Who's on First? discourse about grammar and identity until, well, it doesn't end well for the yam. Our officious yam means to teach the donkey a lesson about pronunciation (The proper way to say that is, I am a Donkey'), while the donkey, not the sharpest tool in the barnyard, almost willfully misunderstands, again and again (You is a funny-looking donkey). Eventually, a group of rubbernecking vegetables gets drawn into the argument. The yam conjugates them, by way of example, and the donkey has an epiphany: OH You is LUNCH The moral of the story? Some things are more important than others (If you is going to be eaten, good grammar don't matter). Bell's flat, jocular illustrations, with their heavy outlines and hand-drawn word balloons, fill the frames. Occasional panels structure the story's progress, but most of it happens across bright, simple two-page spreads. This irreverent, animated outing fairly begs to be read aloud, and children will demand repeat readings.--Barthelmess, Thom Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-The cartoon illustrations of Bell's stab at eliminating a grammatical error are more engaging than her text, and it is probable that the intended audience will not grasp the lesson she's put forward. A donkey states, "I yam a donkey!" and a yam protests the improper use of the word yam. In the ensuing conversation, the donkey repeatedly uses yam when he should be saying am and the tuber becomes increasingly perturbed. Bell's drawings, done in china marker and acrylic, are lively and convey emotion through her judicious use of line, but the grammatical issue is less common now than in Popeye's heyday, and the joke goes on so long that it becomes tiresome. VERDICT Despite its inviting illustrations, this book misses the mark.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A stern yam corrects a grammatically challenged donkey. Beginning a muddled and maddening who's-on-first routine, with enough back and forth to make youngsters' heads spin, a donkey proudly proclaims, "I yam a donkey!" However, a nearby yam disagrees. "The proper way to say that," it admonishes, "is I am a donkey.' " To which the donkey incredulously replies, "You is a donkey, too?" The poor, foolish donkey never quite figures out which form of "to be" to use, and the small, bespectacled yam grows increasingly frustrated. When a cluster of vegetablesgreen beans, a turnip, and a carrotcomes along (and introduces new pronouns), the donkey has a grand realization. Sadly, it's not about grammar but aboutlunch! The moral, as Bell explicitly states in the end, is: "If you is going to be eaten, good grammar don't matter." Parents, teachers, and librarians may cringe. Kids not yet literate enough to recognize the visual difference between "yam" and "I am" will likely be too confused to care. The homophonic nuance is not a familiar language problem (unless you are Popeye), so many readers will not get the chance to rise above and see any humorin either correcting the donkey or being invested in the joke. This attempt to bring levity to an already-difficult grammar task for children just tangles the situation further. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
