Pets in Trumpets: And Other Word-Play Riddles - Hardcover

Most, Bernard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152612106 ISBN 13: 9780152612108

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 1991

Synopsis

Why did the musician find a dog in his trumpet? Because he always finds a PET in his trumPET. Not only pets in trumpets, but weasels with easels, a witch with an itch, and many other unusual items appear in Bernard Most’s irresistible collection of wordplay puzzles. “Clever wordplay riddles will excite beginning readers while encouraging even the most reluctant child to recognize words.”-American Bookseller

About this title

About the Author

BERNARD MOST has written and illustrated many popular children's books, including The Cow That Went OINK, If the Dinosaurs Came Back, How Big Were the Dinosaurs?, Whatever Happened to the Dinosaurs?, and Where to Look for a Dinosaur. He lives in New York.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 2 --An unsuccessful word-play game. The concept behind a riddle is a reasonable expectation that a solution might be guessed or figured out; another implied feature is that it will be worth the effort. Most poses 15 questions with a single word boldfaced in each. The answers are to be found within the highlighted terms, but the new words are so trumped up or obscure that there's no satisfaction to be gained from ``getting it.'' ``Why did the WITCH let children hold her broomstick? Because the witch had a very bad itch.'' The simple, flat watercolor cartoons explain the responses, but are bland and uneven in their execution. Most's animals are far more charming than his people. Riddle collections and books that use words in a clever way abound. This one will neither engage young readers nor inspire a love of language. Pets in Trumpets sounds a sour note. --Luann Toth, School Library Journal
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Though primarily directed toward new readers and prereaders, the essence of this humorous series of 15 riddles is best expressed by Most himself: "The following pages are dedicated to readers of all ages." Finding words within words is the name of the game and Most is expert at identifying and presenting just the right combinations to tickle funnybones. A sample: "Why did the witch let children hold her broomstick? Because the witch had a very bad itch." Best used as a participatory read-aloud, the book uses bold, bright, cartoon drawings to reinforce the concepts in each two-page segment. Particularly winning is a beleaguered dragon struggling with its lengthy tail, then seen with the appendage neatly folded in its claws--"Why is the dragon trying to lift its tail off the ground? The dragon doesn't want to drag it around anymore." Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152612106
• ISBN 13: 9780152612108
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32