Hop! Plop! - Hardcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

COREY ROSEN SCHWARTZ and TALI KLEIN met at an Internet company where they created interactive stories and games for kids. Hop! Plop! is their first book for children. Corey lives with her husband and two children in New York City. Tali lives in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

OLIVIER DUNREA has written and illustrated more than 40 books for children, including the beloved Gossie and Gertie books. His books have won numerous awards and are published in more than 20 countries. Olivier lives in a tiny, remote mountain village on the western edge of the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York.

Rezensionen

PreS-Gr. 2. This jaunty picture book is distinguished by a clean, sans serif typeface, typically considered best for new readers, and rhyming onomatopoeia that lends itself equally to boisterous read-alouds or silent, independent enjoyment. Elephant and Mouse find that their vastly mismatched sizes hinder having fun together at the park: on the seesaw, Elephant's energetic "HOP!" ejects Mouse high into the air--"PLOP! BOOM! WHOP!"--and his Herculean swing-pushes send his pal on a loop-de-loop ride. "I think this playground is broken," Mouse moans, but Elephant's thoughtful gesture redeems their outing. Unfortunately, it's sometimes a strain to figure out how each sequence of sound-words relate to the mishap depicted, and the rhythmically awkward line of verse capping each incident disrupts the narrative flow ("PUSH! WHOOSH! ZING! SMUSH! Mouse landed on his tush!"). But the examples of playground physics offer teachers many opportunities to stress basic concepts (big and little, heavy and light), and Dunrea's simple ink-and-gouache paintings against unadorned, white backgrounds allow the slapstick maneuvers and rowdy words to take center stage. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

PreSchool-Grade 1 Two best buddies go to the playground and discover that their favorite pieces of equipment don't work as they expect them to. After Elephant sits down opposite him, the seesaw sends Mouse flying. When Mouse jumps on a swing, it wraps around the upper bar, and when Elephant takes a turn, it breaks. Just as Mouse has had enough, his pal makes a perfect slide with his trunk. The text consists of simple dialogue interspersed with staccato rhymes that describe each activity. From the swings (PLOP! DROP! CRASH! WHOP!/The swings were a total flop) to the merry-go-round (PUSH! WHOOSH! ZING! SMUSH!/Mouse landed on his tush!), the action words are integrated into the illustrations and given various fonts and colors to make them stand out. Dunrea's clean cartoon artwork, done in pen-and-ink with gouache, enhances the text without overwhelming it. Despite its abrupt ending, this simple tale of friendship is a fine read-aloud. Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.