A fantastically funny book. The drawings are amusing, and the rhyming text is memorable. My favorite part is the scene where the elephant asks who wants to come along to the swamp to help look for the crocodile tears. The other animals all come up with hilarious excuses, so the elephant ends up going alone. A useful introduction to real life, that. The text is a bit too long and complicated for preschoolers, unless you have a child with a long attention span. Better for children 6 and up.
So good... I memorized it... Really!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
This is an amazing book. When I was born in England, this book was bought for my older brothers entertainment, then in my time I read it, then my younger sister as well. As we grew up, we each retained the ability to recite bits and pieces of the now familiar tome. In that it was so special to each of us, we all tried to lay some claim to ownership of the one original. So, I went and memorized it, and was granted the original by my siblings. Now I buy this book by the case, and give it out to raptured children (and adults) after recitations. This book never fails to amaze everyone whose been exposed to it! Too bad its so regularly out of print. Like right now which is why I'm writing this!
Peet?s First Book is Excellent!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
First published in 1959, this is one of more than 30 books written by the great Bill Peet. In it, a proud young lion loses his hair in an accident, and his animal friends come out to solve his problem. An elephant remembers a cure (crocodile tears), but no animal is brave enough to collect them except the clever elephant. However, the croc tonic works so too well, and a baboon is dispatched to trim the overgrown mane. The resulting haircut is a tribute to nonconformity:"You can search every jungle, each circus and zoo, From San Francisco to Timbuctoo But I doubt that you'll find though you look everywhere A lion whose main is so perfectly square ............So there!" The rhymes are delightful and the pictures are fun, relaxed, and absorbing! Peet worked as an illustrator, scriptwriter, and producer for Walt Disney, so you may see some Disney-esque touches in the expressive animal drawings. It's a great children's book (38 pages long). Recommended!
My first Bill Peet and still my favorite.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
Some people have said this may be too long, but kids today are used to quick and dirty. My bet is most kids will happily sit for this rhythmical tale. It has kept my five children's attention at every sitting. It was so popular with my younger brother that he memorized it years ago and now recites it to his son. Peet's illustrations are the perfect compliment to this humorous story. (You may recognize his style - he was an illustrator for Disney.)
Book is fun to read for both kids and adults
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 27 years ago
This was one of Bill Peet's first books. I read it as a child and then to my kids. The story is fun, a bit long for one sitting. Rhymes are clever and pictures entertaining.
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