Publishers Weekly Review
| Part of the Math Is Fun! series, this intro to telling time has a familiar beginning ("Hickory dickory dock,/ a mouse ran up the clock"), but things soon take a dramatic turn. When the clock strikes two, a farm cat awakens and pursues the mouse, and additional barnyard animals (as well as a family of farmers) join the chase each hour. Just when things have calmed down ("Hickory dickory dell,/ by midnight, all was well"), the clock strikes one once more, and it looks like the chase may begin again. A concluding note offers some time-telling basics. Ages 5-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved |
School Library Journal Review
| PreS-Gr 2-A playful expansion of "Hickory, Dickory Dock," this picture book centers around the concept of a cat chasing a mouse through the hours of a day. "Hickory dickory doo, the grandfather clock struck TWO./It woke the cat, who sprang from his mat,/hungry for mouse-tail stew," and the race is on. Some of the rhyming verses are awkwardly constructed ("Hickory dickory date,/at EIGHT, they ran through the gate./The farmer's son/said, 'That looks fun./I'm coming too. So wait!'"). Expressive mixed-media illustrations display a gleeful mouse swinging on the clock chimes while a sleepy feline dozes on a nearby rug, and then highlight the ensuing chaos as other animals and people join the pursuit. The ending shows a very tired mouse and cat catching their breath as the clock strikes one in the morning. A thoughtful afterword offers a two-page explanation about the difference between digital and analog clocks and how to tell time, and challenges readers to find the various clocks featured in the illustrations (e.g., a cuckoo clock, a pocket watch, and a digital stove clock). Keith Baker's Hickory Dickory Dock (Harcourt, 2007) is a better constructed albeit calmer rendition of the nursery rhyme.-Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |
Booklist Review
| From the Math Is Fun series, Harris' picture book utilizes the Hickory Dickory Dock nursery rhyme as it takes kids on a chaotic cat-and-mouse chase from the hours of one to midnight.The animated romp's peppy verse and colorful art capture the comical bedlam with flair. The progressive hours are both spelled out in the text and visually portrayed on diverse timepieces, from pocket watch to alarm clock. An extensive endnote explains basic information, including the difference between a.m. and p.m., and invites readers to search for clocks throughout the art. An entertaining addition to beginning time-telling lessons.--Rosenfeld, Shelle Copyright 2009 Booklist |
Kirkus Review
| Harris's latest math-concept book (Splitting the Herd, 2008, etc.) expands "Hickory Dickory Dock" into a 12-hour romp throughout the farm. The mouse's problem? Why, the cat, of course. "Hickory dickory doo, the grandfather clock struck TWO. / It woke the cat, who sprang from his mat, / hungry for mouse-tail stew." And so the chase begins. Each turn of the page reveals that another hour has passed and another member has joined the pursuit. Readers can track the time on the diverse clocksfrom cuckoo and grandfather to church tower and digital. Scanning well, this would work well for read-alouds, although the smallish trim size will limit the size of the group. Backmatter includes some facts about clocks and teaches children how to tell time by the hour on both digital and analog clocks. Hartman's characters are full of personalitythe cat is high-and-mighty while the dog is just plain loopy. Her colors reflect the passing of the day, getting increasingly darker as the sun disappears and the characters become sleepier. With its emphasis on the hours, this has great potential for the youngest audiences. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. |
