Drummer Hoff [Hardcover]

Barbara Emberley (Author), Ed Emberley (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

A cumulative folk song in which seven soldiers build a magnificent cannon, but Drummer Hoff fires it off.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The spark comes from the...wildly colored woodcuts always under control until the grand and glorious blastoff."

-- Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Barbara and Ed Emberley¹s collaborations include the Caldecott Honor Book One Wide River to Cross. Ed¹s books have also been honored on the New York Times¹s annual Best Illustrated Books List. The Emberleys live in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (October 1, 1967)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671662481
• ISBN-13: 978-0671662486
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 9.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #691,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Generation Spanning Favorite, April 12, 2005

By 

Theo Logos (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drummer Hoff (Hardcover)

I discovered `Drummer Hoff' in a Scholastic book offer at school when I was six, and begged my parents to buy it for me. Like many little boys, I was enamored by soldiers, and would pour over the book again and again, entranced by the colorful European dress uniforms worn by the motley bunch of soldiers who were assembling, loading, and preparing to fire a cannon. Each one was distinctive, and I was particularly fond of Sergeant Chowder (who brought the powder), a gruff looking peg-legged fellow in a grenadiers hat, and Captain Bammer (who brought the rammer), a swashbuckling, eye-patch wearing chap. All of the illustrations were stunningly lined wood-cuts, brightly colored. I would try to draw soldiers who looked like those in the book, and learned all the words by heart.
Jump forward thirty years. My first child was born, and though I hadn't looked at the book in over twenty-five years, I found myself chanting the words to my baby as I rocked him to sleep - I still remembered them perfectly! I retrieved `Drummer Hoff' from my parent's attic, and it has now become my two pre-school boy's favorite book. It is a cherished piece of my childhood that I am thrilled to be able to pass on to them.
Other reviews here have mentioned the subtle anti-war message contained in this book, and I must agree. When the cannon fires, it is a two page spread KAHBAHBLOOOM, all done in hellish red with some dark purple and blue behind it. When you turn the next page, all of the sharply dressed, parade ground soldiers are gone, and the abandoned cannon that was their focus has become a dilapidated ruin in an overgrown meadow full of birds and butterflies. Though as a child I could not clearly articulate the thoughts, I remember pondering what happened to the soldiers; why they had left the cannon there, and if they had perhaps been hurt when it was fired.. It was my first influence to suggest that war might be something other than romance and adventure. My young boys have already questioned me about these very things, which they too noticed. It is a fine, age appropriate way to begin to instill the values of peace in the hearts of little boys.
Among all of the many wonderful books written for small children, this was, is, and ever shall be my very favorite. It receives my highest recommendation.

Theo Logos

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First the wadding, then the powder, then the shot..., May 10, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Drummer Hoff (Hardcover)

Okay, I'm gonna put this book in context for you. It's 1968. America is unofficially (according to all "reputable" sources) at war in Vietnam. It's the sixties. People are experimenting with drugs and the whole psychedelic scene. Enter the Caldecott Award winning, "Drummer Hoff". To the person who was writing the book jacket flap, this story, "will inspire a smart salute and a march about the room". To anyone who reads this book today, however, this is quintessential anti-war propaganda. And it's a marvelous read.

Throughout this tale, Drummer Hoff (who fired it off) and his fellow bespangled soldiers, officers, corporals, etc. construct, before our eyes, a canon. As the verses continue we see each member of the company adding his own touch to the proceedings. For example, Corporal Farrell brings the barrel. Major Scott brings the shot. You get the idea. This all culminates with General Border who, in the end, gives the order and Drummer Hoff (finally abandoning his baton) fires it off. Suddenly the world is engulfed in blood red smoke, Hoff knocked slightly to one side, the extravagantly illustrated word, "KAHBAHBLOOOM" appearing. In our final scene the canon sits there, abandoned by the men. Baby birds grow in its mouth. The name of the canon (Sultan) has been buried and we now only see a smiling sun on its side. Grasshoppers frolic, a spider spins its web, and flowers are everywhere. Make of it what you will

So let's look at it again. The words are very much like an old English series of verses. They could be 40 years old or 400. Now look at the illustrations. I think I'm truthful in saying that I have never read a children's book that looked like this. From the odd thick black lines that permeate every tiny detail of each page to the delicate trussing up of each member of the army, this book is fabulous. I just stare at the double page spread of the canon firing and I'm agog. It may not be drug induced, but this book certainly had something to say about its copyright date. Honestly, you've never seen a story like this before.

Today we are living in a time when violence and war seem as normal as bacon and ham. With the world around us as dangerous as it is, the time has never been better to pull out our older copies of "Drummer Hoff" so as to take another gander. Read it through carefully. Appreciate the beauty of its lines and pictures. Then turn to that last page and just ponder it for a while. The book deserves that much, at least.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drummer Hoff Hits a Home Run, April 29, 2005

By 

Pam Tee "Busy Mom" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Drummer Hoff (Paperback)

I found the reviews of Drummer Hoff to be very interesting, particularly the parts about what this book meant to my fellow readers in their youth. My take is a little different however. As a mom with two young children (38 months and almost 5) I am constantly looking for books of all sorts to read to them. I particularly like books that my kids love enough to memorize on their own.

In this light, Drummer Hoff is a complete hit. The drawings are so intense and interesting that my son brings the book to me all the time... or did. Now that we all know it by heart we take turns reciting it as we play on the lawn.

And while it is true, as some have noted, that it does not have an obvious beginning, middle, and end, it does still tell a story. And this book serves its purpose the same way many of the old rhymes do. It teaches diction, vocabulary and memory skills: all of which are early reading aids.

This mom and dad give it 5 stars.

Pam T~