There are certain phrases most children hear at least once in their life :
“Clean your room.”
“Eat your dinner.”
“What on earth were you thinking?”
And …
“Don’t slam the door.”
Dori Chaconas has turned this last phrase into a rhyming picture book called, surprisingly enough, Don’t Slam the Door (Candlewick Press, 2010).
In her book, the little girl is the one who doesn’t want the door slammed. And she’s not just worried about the noise. She knows the slamming door will set off a whole series of unfortunate events.
The door will wake the cat, which will put knots in mom’s yarn, which will mean lumpy socks for pa, which will make him hop around and bump the honey hive, which will disrupt the bees, which will sting the bear, which will scare the cows.
And all of this will make an awful mess that SHE will have to sort out.
Today’s guest reviewer, Arun, got caught up in the fun. Here’s what he had to say.
Our reviewer: Arun
Age: 8
I like: Karate, running, reading and telling my mom to hurry up and take me to school.
This book was about: The girl was trying to let the cat sleep, but the door slammed and the cat woke up. Then the yarn got tangled and the mom was still knitting with it and Pa bumped the bees who went for the bear. The cows went into the house and there was a BIG MESS, so the girl said “I’m going to count to five …”
The best part was when: They made the big mess.
I laughed when: The girl tried to warn everybody about what would happen but no one listened.
I was worried when: I thought the bear would eat the cows.
This book taught me: To warn people not to wear lumpy socks.
Three words that best describe this book are: “Don’t.” “Slam.” “Door.”
My favorite line or phrase in this book is: “Pa, don’t hop and yell.”
Other kids reading this book should watch for: The lumpy socks mom knit. How the bees spell out “OK” when the girl tells them to get out of the house.
You should read this book because: It’s funny and kind of weird.
Thanks, Arun!
This book is a delight to read out loud, and there’s a lot going on in the illustrations for kids and parents to notice.
You can learn more about author Dori Chaconas by visiting her website.
You can learn more about illustrator Will Hillenbrand, by visiting his website.
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