Customer Reviews

Grandpa Tucker's Rhymes & Tales

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
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"Grandpa Tucker's Rhymes and Tales" is a treasure, packed with delightful humor and brilliant in the use of captivating rhymes. My students and I became acquainted with Grandpa Tucker via his enjoyable website where fun rules and where the love of language is passed to each visitor. Middle school students are drawn to the unique story poems and appreciate the natural rhythm and flow of the verses. Special favorites to all readers are the adventures of Sammy Snake, the lovable and sometimes incorrigible character who always leaves everyone smiling. There are 18 of the Sammy Snake stories in this volume. Parents and teachers appreciate poems that motivate students to read and to think about themes relevant to today's youth. The students always beg for more when we read Grandpa Tucker's rhymes, so we are thrilled to learn there is a collection of joyful poetry in this volume that can be shared anytime, anywhere!

Grandpa Tucker surely understands that the love of language shall, hopefully, ever remain the most endearing and enduring gift to be passed from parents and teachers to children. This book offers the most effective and charming way I have found to pass that gift along.

Learning for little ones should be fun - no doubt about it. Teaching reading should be paramount for every parent, and "Grandpa Tucker's Rhymes & Tales" book accomplishes that fun! These stories are so imaginative, unique and amusing. Our little one is only three, and likes hearing the poems. We've lent out this book to many of our older neighborhood kids and they have all loved reading the poems and stories. The book should be a must for every grade school library.

I've known Grandpa Tucker my whole life, but even if I didn't his book of wonderful rhymes and stories are beloved by children all over! Its the kind of stuff that gives kids the giggles so badly that they get hiccups!

Buy this book for the children in your life!

- added: Grandpa Tucker passed away, but he left this wonderful legacy for children for years to come. If you get one book to read to your kids, get this one. They will surely love it as silliness abounds. This book will be something they treasure the rest of their lives and they will teach their children the rhymes.

This is an OUTSTANDING collection of stories!
It is a great bedtime story book and a good
book for use when a child is ready to advance
from picture books to something a bit more
advanced.

I am a sixth grade teacher in TN and came across Grandpa Tucker on the internet while searching for holiday materials to use for my class. Little did I know that a few seconds of my time would lead to hours of enjoyment for my students. The rhymes are entertaining yet have a moral. They are wonderful to share with the children. The light in their eyes and the smile on their face is priceless. Sammy the Snake is the most popular snake in the class! Sammy has become part of my classroom. The children love Grandpa Tucker's rhymes and tales. It was important for them to know that someone cares about them and is writing with them in mind. The stories are filled with children's language such as the Snickers. The underlining message is always clear and a wonderful to share with the children. Thanks Grandpa Tucker for your wonderful poetry. You always bring a smile to our faces and the children send you a perfect 10 and thumbs up!

What a wonderful book! I first ran across Bob 'Grandpa' Tucker on the internet several years ago, and found the "silly poems" (his description) which he posted to a poetry group on the Usenet to be lighthearted and fun, and at the same time well constructed with catchy meter and rhyme. My younger daughter was, at the time, around eight years old (she is now 14), and she, too, became fascinated with Grandpa's works and words. When she was 9, she took a summer school caligraphy class, and one of the projects was to select a poem and rewrite it caligraphically. The teacher had set aside books by Shel Silverstein and Bill Martin Jr. as sources, but after my daughter showed her a stack of Grandpa Tucker poems, the teacher promptly added them to the short list of acceptable authors from which the students could select a poem! No need to ask which author SHE selected!

Since then, the list of Grandpa Tucker's work has grown to include his endearing Sammy Snake story poems - each and every one of which is faithful to his original tight meters and rhymes, but which collectively tell delightful tales to leave the reader with a valuable lesson, sans preaching!

My daughter today has become a poet in her own right. She has written dozens, in fact, and this year was asked by her eighth grade language teacher to submit a poem to the District's Middle School poetry contest. I have no doubt that her love of poetry had, as it's genesis, the words and "silly poems" of Grandpa Tucker. Would that there were more mentors such as Bob 'Grandpa' Tucker out there to so favorably influence our children.

Needless to say, I strongly recommend this book - not just for children, but for everyone who appreciates the simple joy of wandering for a bit in a sunny, fantasical world.

After teaching for 32 years I have never been so excited about my poetry unit!! It was by accident that we found Grandpa Tucker on the internet. It is so exciting to see second graders, especially those stuggling with reading, to raise their hands because they want to read aloud. Just say the word "heinie" to a second grader and they want to read more!! I must admit I have never smiled as much as I have with Grandpa Tucker's poems. Most recently we read BELLYBUTTON BUDDY. After giggling our way through that poem, discussing rhyming words, vowels, rootwords, etc, we wrote about Grandpa Tucker's poems. Some of the students said,......"I like Grandpa Tucker's poems because they're the best poems in the world and he is neat"......"Grandpa Tucker makes me laugh"...."You make me feel good because you work hard"...."I think your poems are great, especially Frozen Willy and Bellybutton Buddy. I really, really think they are good. I feel good because they are silly"...."I like the way Grandpa Tucker says things"...."My favorite if Pum-Pum-Pum-Pumpkin Pie". The second graders could go on and on about how funny, nice and awesome Grandpa Tucker is. From a teacher's point of view I have never used poetry in a language lesson as much as this year. It has been a wonderful find for us. Thank you Grandpa Tucker!!

One summer, while searching educational sites for my 4th grade students, I found Grandpa Tucker's site with his wonderful poems, tales, and new words for old songs. What a joy! Reading them reminded me of the excitement when, as a child, I first realized how wonderful words could be, especially in poetry. I couldn't have been more delighted with Bob's writings for the 8-12 year old child and for all of us out there who remember being a kid. So I purchased copies for gifts and an additional 5 copies to use with my students. The investment was well worth while. To say my students truly love Sammy Snake and the wonderful tales Bob Tucker weaves is an understatement. The reason for that is not only Bob's charming command of the English language, but also because he makes Sammy and his other characters seem "real"--something that is very appealing to children. Although Sammy's a snake, Bob gives him the human qualities of a little boy, who's living and learning and trying to grow up in the world to become a good snake. And what makes it even better, Sammy's a snake who really cares about others. Sometimes he gets into trouble, like all children do. But when he makes mistakes, he gets gentle, loving guidance from the adults and friends in his life. As a teacher and parent, I especially appreciate that in his those verses. Many of Bob's poems center around Sammy and his experiences throughout the year and the holidays ("Sammy, the Valentine Snake", for one). Bob also creativity draws his audience in with such poems as "Pum-Pum, Pum-Pum, Pumpkin Pie", "Chocolate Math", and "Ode to a Hamburger", just to name a few. Children will love this book and read it over and over for a long time to come!

Bob Tucker has a unique ability to make us smile...a great gift particularly when writing stories for children. One of his characters, Sammy Snake is a favorite for both parents and children at a library story time. His book is a wonderful addition to my home bookshelf.

My son and I have read this book together from cover to cover laughing all the way. We have truly enjoyed each and every story. It would be hard to pick a favorite because all of them are so cute, but I guess it would be the one where Sammy Snake gets stuck in cement trying to write a letter to Sally Snake. What is especially good about these stories is that they teach good morals to children without boring them. It gets the message across in a humorous way that children love. My son likes the rhyming style which is fun and easy to read, and I think every child would love Grandpa Tucker's stories.

(Joni Miller)