A Squash and a Squeeze [Board book] http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Squash-and-Squeeze-Board-book-Julia-Donaldson-Axel-Scheffler-Illustrated-by/9780230742154

By Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illustrated by)

About the Author

Julia Donaldson is one of the UK's most successful picture book authors, whose titles regularly appear at the top of bestseller lists -- most notably, the acknowledged modern classic, THE GRUFFALO (978 0 333 71093 7). Her other picture books in collaboration with Axel Scheffler include ROOM ON THE BROOM (978 0 333 90338 4) and THE SMARTEST GIANT IN TOWN (978 0 333 96144 5). Julia is also much in demand for her brilliant events for children at schools, libraries and literary festivals.

Julia Donaldson is one of the UK's most successful picture book authors, whose titles regularly appear at the top of bestseller lists -- most notably, the acknowledged modern classic, THE GRUFFALO (978 0 333 71093 7). Her other picture books in collaboration with Axel Scheffler include ROOM ON THE BROOM (978 0 333 90338 4) and THE SMARTEST GIANT IN TOWN (978 0 333 96144 5). Julia is also much in demand for her brilliant events for children at schools, libraries and literary festivals.

Reviews

K-Gr 3-- In this traditional tale, adapted and retold in verse, a little old woman complains to a wise old man that, ``My house is a squash and a squeeze,'' even though she is the sole resident. The thoughtful man tells her to take in, in turn, her hen, goat, pig, and finally her cow. Of course the house seems gigantic when the temporary boarders are put out. Clever caricatures of characters accentuate the humorous situation. Just a curl of a lip or the ideal placement of the dot in the white eyeball make them whimsical, pensive, dismayed, serene, or horrified. Pen-and-ink outlined with bright watercolor washes are set against a white background. It seems that light is shining through the pages. Best of all is the language; the refrain reverberates even after the story is over. Margot Zemach's It Could Always Be Worse (Farrar, 1990) and Eleanor Chroman's It Could Be Worse (Childrens, 1972; o.p.) are familiar versions of the story. Donaldson's has fewer details, but its rollicking verse makes it a charming story hour addition.-- Nancy Seiner, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh