Too Small (Gazelle Books) - Hardcover

Ann Ruffell; Jennifer Bailey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 024111649X ISBN 13: 9780241116494

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, 1985

Synopsis

Angus and Jack must move with their mother to a smaller house. When they complain, Mother turns to a wise woman for advice. The woman recommends inviting the dogs inside to play, asking the relatives to stay, and hosting a sleepover. Bedlam breaks out. Quite distraught, Mother revisits the woman, who says, "Send everyone home now." In this retelling of a Yiddish folk tale, Ann Blades riffs in rhyme on the theme "everything's relative." Building situation upon situation, the story, illustrated in whimsical watercolors, reaches a wild crescendo and peaceful resolution.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-A modernization of the Yiddish folktale of a too-small house. When a mother and two elementary-aged sons move from a two-story home with a pool to a tiny cottage on a quiet street, the boys complain in rhymed refrain about the lack of "tumble and wrestle" room. An elderly neighbor advises their mother to invite inside first a dog, then friends, then relatives, until the home is bedlam. When the visitors finally clear out, the space becomes exactly what the family needs. Flat, primitive-style illustrations with copious detail flesh out characters through their activities and possessions. The story's roots are not attributed, but the modern setting may serve for a comparative read with Julia Donaldson's A Squash and a Squeeze (McElderry, 1993; o.p.).
Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Publication date: 1985
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 024111649X
• ISBN 13: 9780241116494
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48