Customer Reviews

Beyond Old MacDonald: Funny Poems from Down on the Farm

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With 22 years experience as a classroom teacher Charley Hoce well knows what appeals to youngsters. As he says, "Children love puns, homophones, idioms, and anything that turns convention upside down." He has incorporated all of these into a jolly rhyming book based on the well known ditty "Old MacDonald Had A Farm." It might be especially fun to sing the song with youngsters before reading the rhymes.

Just watch children's eye light up when they see, "My horse he cannot whinny. My horse he cannot neigh. My horse has caught a nasty cold. My horse is hoarse today."

Artist Eugenie Fernandes has crafted boldly colored whimsical illustrations that enhance each verse. Intended for young readers from 4 - 7 "Beyond Old MacDonald" is thoroughly entertaining with a little education thrown in, such as language skills that children may need to practice.

- Gail Cooke

Children will love this book. Mr. Hoce's work is amazing. I've never seen so much creativity with word play. Kids and adults alike will find this book amusing.

Beyond Old MacDonald is a wonderful, joyful collection of poetry about farm animals. Children giggle delightfully when reading them or when being read to. The wordplays make the poems very useful in the classroom. A Wordplay Guide is included.

I sat down with my 7-year old as we took turns reading the clever, witty little poem puns. I found myself laughing at the end of each pun, & my daughter occasionally stopping a moment, thinking, & finally laughing herself as she "got" the punchline. But, most of the puns she got right away. And if the 30 poems aren't reason enough to purchase this book, on the last page of the book the author/teacher includes a Word Play Guide to point out the language skill each of the poems employ (pun, idiom, personification, etc.). Making it an excellent teaching tool.

This book is an amazing children's book about poetry.It is so exciting,funny and enjoyable read for young children as well as adults. I'm sure teenagers would enjoy it also. This book reminds me of my childhood days. The Author is great Teacher and as this book proves that he is also a great writer.

This book will have you on your feet and cheering for "Beyond Old MacDonald - Funny Poems from Down on the Farm." This is a wonderful book for parents and teachers to introduce or reintroduce kids to poetry. The poems include lots of wordplay and a wordplay guide is included for instructors to use to develop lessons. This is a book children will want to hear or read again and again and even be encouraged to try their hand at writing their own poetry. The illustrations are comical and compliment the poetry well.
Kathy Reeder
1st Grade Teacher
Little Hocking, Ohio

Too often I have purchased poetry books for my kids only to have them store the book on their shelf and never read it again. Beyond Old MacDonald by Charley Hoce is a poem book of a different animal. Hoce's word play brings giggles to both children and parents. The many levels of the poems, as seen in "When My Cow Goes Dancing" - "She always wears a muumuu/Since it makes her calves look small," leave smiles on the faces of anyone reading them. With the obvious fun Hoce has with language coupled with Fernandes' perfectly delightful illustrations, Beyond Old MacDonald invites us to read his poems again and again ... and the kids really do it.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading these poems. Charley Hoce is a master of word play. His poems are creative, witty and will make both children and adults laugh out loud. Each poem reveals a quirk of the English language. Children will be challenged to think about the English language in different ways in order to "get" the meaning of the poems. The wordplay guide located at the back of the book is a great resource for teaching and demonstrating different literary elements such as puns, personification, homophones, idioms etc. This guide outlines each poem found in the book and the element it utilizes. Fernandes' watercolor colorful illustrations are full of energy and brought each poem to life. Her illustrations also reflected multicultural characters that I found refreshing. Even children too young to "get" the poem would enjoy looking at the colorful and funny pictures. This book of children's poetry respectfully deserves a spot on the shelves of public and school libraries. It definitely has a spot on my son's bookcase.