Customer Reviews

Drummer Hoff (Stories to Go!)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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~

Emberley's Drummer Hoff is a cumulative folk verse describing the assembly of a cannon before it can be fired. Not a story with a beginning, middle, and end, the text of Drummer Hoff, adapted by Barbara Emberley, progresses through military ranks as seven soldiers play separate roles in preparing a cannon in a grassy field. The text playfully rhymes the names of the soldiers with the portion of the cannon they bring and the rhythm and repetition suggest a military cadence, appropriate to the theme. The illustrations are woodcuts with bold lines and intense colors printed on textured, laid paper. With the old-fashioned style of the type and the illustrations, the story has a timeless feel, though the rich colors keep it vibrant and current. As each new soldier appears on the scene, the illustration becomes more elaborate with less and less white space until finally the General gives the order to fire. The story literally concludes with a bang, with the pages completely saturated in color and line representing the cannon's dramatic explosion. As a sort of anti-war epilogue, the final page of the story shows the cannon overgrown with flowers and home to nesting birds and a spider web.

Don't pick apart the text too much, it won't make much sense to adults. Just be assured that within the first minute, any child will be completely engaged by the brilliant, somewhat old fashioned woodcut pictures and by the second or third reading will be crowing the refrain "fired it off!" with abandoned glee.
We finally discovered a paperback edition while at the Presidio bookstore in San Francisco, thereby giving the library copy a much needed rest. Yes, it ends abruptly and leaves me perplexed as to what exactly happened, but my children simple accept it as is and really enjoy testing their memories with cumulative rhymes.

Well, I probably cannot praise this book enough. I was first introduced to this book when my daughter was in kindergarten. I could not tell you how many times she checked this book out of the library. So many, in fact, the entire family was tired of reading it to her. But still, whenever I mention it to her, she smiles. And my son makes it into a game. Who can remember the lines? I think we've actually added soldiers to the story. The rhythm and rhyme of the story is just perfect. The illustrations are beautiful. They are so vivid and bright. This goes down as a classic for our family.

Twenty-five years ago when my son was three his Christmas requests starting in late summer always included "Drmmer Hoff". Other things would change on the list but not "Drumer Hoff". It was out of print, but I figured it would be back for Christmas. It wasn't, and the first week of December I called the publisher and tracked down the assistant to the Children's book editor. Where was it? Alas, she said. Help I said. And one week later in the mail came the editor's copy of "Drummer Hoff", with no bill or anything except a Merry Christmas note. So yes, here in Virginia there is a Santa Claus. Merry Christmas to all.

I remember reading this book when i was just learning the alphabet. I'm 16 now this is and will always be my favorite book!

Sylized soldiers assemble a cannon for an explosive and predictable conclusion. Rhythm, rhyme and color dominate the book, enticing children, ages 2 to 6, to ask for it to be read over and over. My son, now 20, still remembers Drummer Hoff and has claimed the privilege of giving it to his 2 year-old cousin this Christmas.

I used to read Drummer Hoff to my little girls in the late 1960's and early 1970's, at the height of the antiwar movement. I am saddened by the reviews that fail to find the message in this fine little book. It was published in 1967, and is such an obvious antiwar book that I can only feel the reviewers have little sense of history. The idyllic pastoral environment with little birds and flowers is blown to pieces at the end as the giant cannon, "Sultan," explodes. It is a tale of the self-destructive savagery of war. My little girls are now grown, about to have their own children, and I am giving Drummer Hoff to them, so their own antiwar instincts can be made vivid to their children in a language that all will find accessible and delightful.