Review by Booklist Review
Ages 2-4. Young children for whom the word no has a great deal of appeal will enjoy this wonderfully illustrated treatise on table manners. Invited to join a bevy of beasts for a meal, a dark-skinned, shaggy-haired boy has a hard time getting any food. For instance, when he asks the critters to "Pass the Fritters," the response is "No." Eclair from the bear: "Never!" Cobbler from the gobbler: "I'd rather not." It is only when his mother reminds him of the magic word Please that the boy convinces the spider to pass the cider. He even gets an invitation to be a snack ("No thank you, Alligator . . ."). Rendered in very bright cut paper (including many red-and-white checkered napkins), the collage artwork has bold shapes, delicate details, and a whimsical, childlike feeling. Although the negations interrupt the flow of the rhyming text, the high energy and humor will keep youngsters involved. ~--Julie Corsaro
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
If Miss Manners swallowed a rhyming dictionary, she might have produced this spirited seminar on lunchtime etiquette. A boy at table issues a series of requests--``Pass the cantaloupe, Antelope,'' ``Pass the muffin, Puffin,'' etc.--but he is refused each time. Finally, an adult reminds him that there's a ``magic word,'' which, of course, is ``please.'' The banquet then begins, and the boy dispels all doubts about his courtesy with such pleasantries as ``After you, Kangaroo.'' Roth's cut-paper collages, far more suggestive here than in Another Christmas , add to the zaniness with gay swaths of color and festive touches (the fritters of the title seem to have been cut out with pinking shears; a bunny and a bear are fringed to hint at their furriness; napkins and bibs come from checkerboard-print paper). Best of all is the presiding adult, so large that when she appears full-figure, you have to turn the book sideways--and you still can't see her head. Like the rest of these pictures, it shows enough to make the reader laugh and it leaves just enough to the imagination. Ages 3-5. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-- Bunny won't pass the honey, parrot won't pass the carrot, etc. In rhyming text, various critters refuse to pass the fritters until a mother asks for the secret word (please)--then spider passes the cider, etc. The cut-paper collage illustrations are bright and colorful, cleverly laid out, and effective in conveying the concept of manners. The message won't be lost on young readers because it's cloaked in a fun story. --Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A child asks the animals sitting around the table to pass different dishes of food, but each animal in turn refuses -- until the magic word is spoken. Preschoolers will enjoy this lesson in manners, taught by a variety of colorful critters depicted in bright paper collage. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Chapman's first book is an ingenious exploration of language, rhymes, and manners: Peremptory requests in the spirit of the title (``Pass the muffin, Puffin'') get a variety of negative responses (``Sorry''; ``Never''; ``Forget it'') until a grown-up demands, ``What's the magic word?'' and the manners shape up: ``Please pass the salami, Mommy.'' ``After you, Kangaroo.'' A last exchange is just for fun: ``Be my snack, Mac?'' ``No thank you, Alligator...See you later!'' The toothy alligator and the other animals, plus a brown-skinned child, are all cheerfully rendered in arresting collages of paper and fabric in vibrant colors. After a first reading, kids will enjoy chiming in on the answers. (Picture book. 3-7)
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