M.C. Turtle and the Hip Hop Hare - Hardcover

Vozar, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385321570 ISBN 13: 9780385321570

Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 1995

Synopsis

In a new rhyming and rhythmical twist to the old classic of The Tortoise and the Hare, these two up-to-date characters race to the finish line with snappy lyrics and a hip-hop beat sure to please any child.

About this title

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3-From the creators of Yo, Hungry Wolf (Doubleday, 1993) now comes a rap version of Aesop's "The Tortoise and the Hare." The hare, wearing three earrings in one ear and dressed in baggy shorts and T-shirt, postures, goggles, and dances, while the turtle in his day-glo running shorts crawls along repeating his rhyme: "I go as I go-/It's all that I know./I know that I'm slow,/But I go as I go." The cartoonstyle illustrations combine closeups, multiple images, and crowd scenes. This makes the visual presentation as energetic as the text. Lewin is especially expressive in showing the contrast between the jiving hare and the stolid turtle. The rap rhythm is not quite as crisp as in Yo; still, it is lively. Combined with the humorous pictures, this novel retelling of an old fable will have great appeal for children familiar with popular music.
Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4^-7. One of the most flexible of Aesop's fables moves to the city and gets a rap beat. When M. C. Turtle (the initials stand for mostly crawling) can't take any more of Hip Hop Hare's "dissing," he challenges the hare to a race. Hip Hop isn't worried ("Yo! I'm so fast, / If I raced a jet, it would come in last" ), but some distractions in the form of "chicks" (Chicken Little and Henny Penny) and a band get him dancing instead of running and cost him the race. Vozar's story is bouncy fun that plays with both words and rhymes. In fact, teachers and librarians will want to practice reading this aloud to get the beat just right before using it with groups. The watercolor illustrations are outlined in fat, jaunty black lines, and children will love the animal spectators and the hare with his three earrings. Susan Dove Lempke

Edition details

• Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385321570
• ISBN 13: 9780385321570
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1