More Spaghetti, I Say! <small>(level 2) (Hello Reader) by Frieda Wishinsky </small>

I love a read that children love to have read to them of course, but more importantly from a personal point of view, I fully agree with the little monkey who stars in this work and her attitude toward spaghetti.

"I have it on pancakes
with ice cream and ham.
With pickles and cookies,
bananas and jam.

I love it with mustard
and marshmallow stuff.
I eat it all day,
I just can't get enough!"

Yes, I do love my pasta; spaghetti in particular! I love eating the stuff and find it is a very fun good...even at my advanced age.

But about the book, with personal prejudices and likes aside:

This is a charming, simple and absolutely funny read. We have two friends. The little girl friend will not play with the little boy (they are portrayed and very cute monkeys by illustrator Mort Gerberg), as she is so enthusiastic about eating, cooking, playing with, and messing around with spaghetti.

The entire book is set in rhyme and is extremely effective in presenting simple, easy to read sentences while at the same time offering a very good and gradual vocabulary introduction.

The text goes perfectly with the lively illustrations and the combination of the two is exactly right! This is a very fun book to read with the grandchildren, and indeed, a fun book to read to a group of children.

Now I have noted that a couple of reviewers at Amazon have taken exception to the fact that these are two very messy little kids (monkeys) in their eating habits and fear this little book may give kids the wrong impression as to table manners. Sigh, what I say? If pictures of monkeys acting out in one small book shatter your child's almost perfect manners, and if your child cannot tell the difference in "bad" behavior when they see it (I have found the vast, vast majority of children I have read this work to pick up on that immediately), then I might suggest that you may have other issues with your child you need to address.

I and the children (which have been many) give this one two thumbs up. It is a wonderful little read.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

More Spaghetti, I Say!