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Summary
Summary
How would you describe a hippopotamus? Big might be the first word that comes to mind. What about a whale? Gigantic? Immense? How about enormous! What if you had to find a word for the biggest animal of them all--a dinosaur. Mammoth? Humongous? Colossal!
With its bright pictures of animals in all shapes and sizes, this terrific read-aloud introduces young children to the language of comparisons, synonyms, and antonyms.
Author Notes
NANCY COFFELT is the author and illustrator of several books, including Dogs in Space and The Dog Who Cried Woof . She is also the author of Fred Stays with Me , illustrated by Tricia Tusa, which was named an ALA Notable Book. Nancy's work is shown in galleries nationwide. She lives in Oregon.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Broad sweeps of bold color make 21 animals the perfect menagerie to show comparatives and superlatives for size, speed, hunger, and tiredness. Descriptive adjectives, such as "humongous," "gooey," and "wee," modify noun synonyms to enrich a simple, yet effective way to encourage writing vocabulary. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
I'm small," says a rabbit; "I'm little. I'm teensy. I'm wee." A chick replies, "I'm smaller. I'm petite. I'm tiny. I'm itty-bitty." The text allows for useful comparisons in addition to helping with vocabulary building (lethargic, ravenous, and famished make appearances). Simply drawn creatures outlined in black and set on brightly colored pages make the book visually engaging. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
An ingenious treatment of not only comparisons but also synonyms and antonyms that all the while exposes children to some fantastic vocabulary. A turtle illustrates slow, a sloth is slower and a snail is slowest. But that is only one adjective, and a rather ho-hum one, at that. Coffelt goes above and beyond the ho-hum. Penguin: "I'm fast. I'm quick. I'm hasty. I'm speedy." Dragonfly: "I'm faster. I'm nimble. I'm rapid. I'm swift." Cheetah: "I'm fastest. I'm fleet. I'm meteoric. I'm supersonic." For older children, this is a good lesson as to why the thesaurus should be used carefully, as not all the synonyms presented have exactly the same meaning. Big, small, hungry, slimy and sleepy are also included. The acrylic animals are truly illustrative of each adjective, painted with minimal detail on a plain background, a technique that keeps the focus on the text. The bright colors and clearly identifiable features will draw readers' eyes, while the lack of labels will beg children to yell out the animals' names. A solid addition to storytime, as well as to the shelves of English teachers. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
At the start of this picture book filled with exciting words, a hippo says that he is big . . . huge . . . jumbo. A whale claims that he is even bigger: gigantic . . . immense . . . enormous. A mammoth knows that he is the biggest of all: humongous . . . colossal. Then the pages switch to small creatures, from a rabbit ( I'm little. I'm teensy. I'm wee. ) to a chick ( I'm petite . . . tiny . . . itty-bitty. ). A bug under the microscope is smallest . . . minuscule. Other spreads explore the differences between fast and slow. And what creature is the slimiest? Who is hungriest ( ravenous insatiable )? Sleepiest ( pooped somnolent )? Each animal, rendered in bright acrylic paint with thick black lines, fills up its own page, and even if young children don't know that the drama is technically all about antonyms, synonyms, and comparisons, they will be drawn by the bragging, swaggering characters. A great read-aloud to begin a discussion about the concepts and show the fun of wordplay.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2009 Booklist
