Review by Booklist Review
Anyone who struggles with Dr. Seuss' Fox in Socks (1965) will enjoy these silly sentences that simply must be read out loud. Since the sentences are short, they look easy, but overconfident readers beware: it'd be hard enough to pronounce all these words correctly, even without humor adding to the challenge, especially in one case about kissing quickly name a six-year-old who doesn't giggle at kissing. Colorful, stylized illustrations feature human and animal characters, and each image and sentence form a discrete package, one to a page or to a spread. Occasional details in the pictures are hilarious, especially the one for Tim and his thin twin sister, Trish, twice tricked their thick sitter, showing giraffe kids dangling a spider over a panicking hippo babysitter, who is about to sit on a tiny whoopee cushion that emits poot! in tiny type. The title twister, which closes the collection, is reminiscent of Joanna Cole and Stephanie Calmenson's Six Sick Sheep (1993). A note at the end offers suggestions for aspiring tongue-twister creators.--Foote, Diane Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This high-energy collection of pleasantly rhythmic tongue twisters features a screwball cast of cartoon animals rendered in digital collages. Characters include a long-eared, lovestruck dog ("Miss Tish made a quick list of/ those she'd kissed quickest") and a pair of hungry bears excitedly awaiting their meal at a restaurant. "Few knew that Mr. Froo flew in the/ fleshy, freshly fried fish from Florida." An appended guide provides tips for creating effective tongue twisters-something readers are likely to try out once they master the satisfying sounds of these silly, slippery, serpentine selections. Ages 5-10. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
A pleased penguin takes a shower as "The water in Flo's Inn flows in frozen." A Christmas elf faces down a menacing dog: "Sammy stammered as he told the stray in the sleigh to stay." Brightly colored, bold-hued pictures add clarity and humor. An appended "Make Your Own Tongue Twister" page helpfully provides letter combinations that "can be particularly difficult to pronounce. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Readers who take this on should prepare their tongues for a wicked tangling...and their stomach muscles for a workout. A quick look at some of Cleary's sentences can be deceivingseemingly simple syllables are truly tongue twisting when read aloud: "The water in Flo's Inn flows in frozen." Others, however, look tricky right from the start: "Few knew that Mr. Froo flew in the fleshy, freshly fried fish from Florida." From the silly and ridiculous to the everyday, this tongue-twister collection covers a wide variety of topics. Ever the educator, the author's backmatter includes some great tips for creating tongue twisters, breaking down for readers just what makes them so difficult to say. Mack's brightly colored madcap cartoon illustrations match the tongue-in-cheek humor of the text. "The ghostly moans were mostly groans" pictures a child ghost wildly protesting having to rake the leaves while his unimpressed father stands by, arms crossed. And it's tough to beat the silliness of slightly cross-eyed and buck-toothed men in sandals and togas playing basketball: "See the Greek geeks as they shoot three free throws." Not for the faint of heart; tongues should really be limbered up before tackling these. (Picture book. 5-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
