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The Ears of Corn (Ike and Mem Story)
 
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The Ears of Corn (Ike and Mem Story) [Hardcover]

Patrick Jennings (Author), Anna Alter (Illustrator)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)


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Book Description

6 and up1 and upIke and Mem Story
When Ike and his little sister Mem spend the weekend at their grandparents' farm, they resent all the work they must do, until they realize that there is more to their visit than just doing chores, and that everyone must cooperate and pitch in if they are to get along.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4--Ike and his younger sister enjoy visiting their grandparents on their farm but are unhappy with their chores. After they clean up all of the twigs and acorns from the lawn and weed the vegetable garden, they are sent to pick a basketful of corn. Angry at having to do tasks he dislikes, Ike yells, "Grandmother and Grandfather are the worst in the world!" Later that day, he hears the corn whispering in the wind and believes it is saying "Worst in the world!" The children worry that their grandparents will hear the corn and know what was said in anger. The story is resolved in a realistic fashion that will satisfy young readers. With its simple sentence structure and appealing characters, this title is appropriate for youngsters who are just ready to try chapter books.--Jean Lowery, Bishop Woods Elementary School, New Haven, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Anna Alter is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. She illustrated "The Three Little Kittens" and "Estelle and Lucy", which she also wrote. She lives in Massachusetts.

Patrick Jennings is the author of many books for young readers, including the recent BookSense Children's Pick "Out Standing in My Field." His Ike and Mem series was a success with the chapter book crowd, and "Booklist" observed in a starred review, "The writing is all the more telling in its spareness." He lives in Washington State.

Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  • Hardcover: 63 pages
  • Publisher: Holiday House (October 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0823417700
  • ISBN-13: 978-0823417704
  • Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #648,780 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a kid Patrick Jennings was afraid of African black mambas and tigers. He grew up in Northwestern Indiana.

He got his first pair of glasses when he was eight, and always wished he had a nickname like his friend, Mike. Mike was called "Tiger" by everyone, even the teachers. Wow.

Patrick Jennings may be called "Tiger," if you wish, or "Tigersnack." Both names are hidden inside his name. (As is "Rat" and "Ratpick," but he's not as fond of those and discourages their use. "Jetpack" is fine.)

Before he became a professional writer, in 1995, Tigersnack was a paperboy, a busboy, a fry cook, a hoddy, a record store clerk, a courier, a teacher, and a librarian. He has since published sixteen books for young readers. Can you find them somewhere on this site?

Jetpack's books have featured such creatures as electric dogs, rocket cats, grebes, coots, kangaroo rats, werewolves, scorpions, horses grown from seed, teenagers, gopher snakes, guinea dogs, and a lucky (or perhaps unlucky) sixth grader. Stinking Carp (he doesn't like this one) is currently working on books about a bat, a rat, alien dognappers, an owl in a suit, and, naturally, a tiger.




 

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2* Meet the Grandparents, February 9, 2005
This review is from: The Ears of Corn (Ike and Mem Story) (Hardcover)
Ike and young Mem's parents drop them off for a couple of days at their grandparents' farm. There are ponies to ride and cornfields in which to play, but there are also "lots and lots of chores" to do. Ike and Mem enjoy the fun stuff, but the grandkids-especially Ike-aren't very happy about the difficult farm chores. It's a fairly prosaic story but younger readers will identify with complaints and rewards around work, and may enjoy the subplot about the mysterious sounds emanating from the cornfield.

The dialogue and description convey personality and setting, but the author overplays his hand. The grandparent characters border on stereotypes: the mischievous, joke-telling (bad jokes, of course) grandfather, and the nurturing (especially with food), but stern and sometimes very gruff grandmother. The two constantly insert the word "best" in their demands (e.g., "Best get on out to the cornfield.") and forever talking in "rural" clichés. Apparently, farm folks always speak the same. This provides some humor, as Ike begins to copy the best phrase. (The cynical among us would believe that his word choice is sarcastic.) Some other spots of humor will promote interest. I don't think that the suggested age range of 9-13 is right; this book is perhaps more suited to a younger age range.

The black and white drawings are adequate but largely unimaginative, and the period farmhouse looks like a modern condo in the mountains. Early readers will enjoy the word repetition, the feeling of reading a grown-up book (55 pages, with un-numbered chapter breaks), the conflict over tasks, and the mystery in the cornfield. However, the dialogue feels contrived, and the surprise ending is fairly predictable (although there is a very clever twist that may require re-reading to make sure the author didn't trick you. This is the fifth "Ike and Mem" book.
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