Bling Blang (Radunsky/Guthrie) [Hardcover]

Woody Guthrie (Author), Vladimir Radunsky (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up | Series: Radunsky/Guthrie

Attention young architects and builders: Check out the house that Woody Guthrie and Vladimir Radunsky built!

Run bring rocks
and I'll bring bricks.
A nice pretty house
we'll build and fix

Making something together has never been this much fun! Legendary singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie is the architect; graphic artist Vladimir Radunsky and his young friends are the builders. You can be sure the house they build—full of zany humor and vivid color—is a fun house. So, ZING-O ZANG-O, come on in! Any child who has built something out of bits and bobs of anything or known the joys of creating will feel right at home!

Sheet music featured on reverse side of jacket!
Visit www.woodyguthrie.org for info on Woody Guthrie

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As in Howdi Do, Radunsky provides guileless visual accompaniment to the late Guthrie's whimsical lyrics. Howdi's central figure, an enthusiastic yellow dog reappears (along with his striped cat sidekick), in the company of two children. To the words, "You bring a board and I'll bring a saw,/ And we'll build a house for the baby-o," the team assembles a structure out of colorful rectangular shapes. A memorable onomatopoetic refrain sets the workers' methodical but worry-free pace: "Bling blang,/ Hammer with my hammer,/ Zing-o zang-o,/ Cutting with my saw." Finally, the dog becomes the "baby-o" by sitting in a stroller (and receiving the song's promised kisses). Blocky panelsDcomposed of paper, cloth and photos of old walls with peeling paintDserve as bricks and wood. The characters themselves resemble hinged paper puppets creating a two-dimensional home. An improvisational mood dominates, and it's easy to imagine the singer, illustrator and builders making things up as they play. Loose paintings by real children (subtly altered by the artist) close this lighthearted number, and Radunsky deserves a round of applause for a charmingly loopy rendition of Guthrie's song. Ages 2-5. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Woody Guthrie was born Woodrow Wilson Guthrie in Okemah, Oklahoma. Over his lifetime, he wrote more than a thousand folksongs, ballads, and children's songs. After World War II he began writing songs for his daughter Cathy and her friends. With a hammer and some nails, and a little bit of imagination, Woody and his kids loved to build a "Hoodis" in the backyard. "Hoodis" is kid-speak for "What's that?"

Vladimiar Radunsky lives in New York City, a place with buildings of every size everywhere. He just got a hammer and a saw, he says, and is still deciding what to do with them.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1st edition (August 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076360769X
• ISBN-13: 978-0763607692
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 9.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,113,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Music is Great!!!, July 1, 2002

By 

Michael A. Cignetti "michellino" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bling Blang (Radunsky/Guthrie) (Hardcover)

While this book does not come with the bonus CD that 'Howdi Do' does, it is a great book with wonderful illustrations. But do your child a favor and also purchase the 'Howdi Do' book, you will then get the music CD performed by Band of Weeds, giving a childish musical romp to three of Woody's wonderful songs, including "Bling Blang", by far one of my children's favorites.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book to sing, September 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bling Blang (Radunsky/Guthrie) (Hardcover)

As a children's librarian in a public library, I'm always on the lookout for a good storytime book. This one is just right for singing out loud together. As a follow-up activity, the group can draw a picture of themselves building a house. The only fault I find with this book is the sheet music has been placed on the reverse side of the book jacket. In a library the patrons cannot get to that part of the book as it will be covered up.

4.0 out of 5 stars My daughter's favorite book so far (she's 4.5), February 8, 2008

By 

Sam Lowry (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bling Blang (Radunsky/Guthrie) (Hardcover)

Fun book with a simple song. Took my wife and I awhile to get into it, but once you starting singing the book, it all makes sense. No fun to just read it any more.