Heat Wave [Hardcover]

Helen Ketteman (Author), Scott Goto (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998 | Age Level: 5 and up

"Heat Wave" is the hilarious tall tale of one farm girl's battle against a fluke of nature that descends upon the rich Kansas farmland. Crops and livestock comically fall victim to the smothering heat wave, only to be rescued by our determined, maverick-minded heroine--who refuses to be defeated by a puff of hot air .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 5?In the style of a rollicking American tall tale, Ketteman spins a story in which things go from bad to worse on a Kansas farm when a Heat Wave hits. Just how hot was it? Hot enough to make the corn pop in the field, causing the hound dog to turn blue (because he thought it was snow, of course) and hot enough so that an unfortunate flock of geese that flew through it came out the other side, all plucked, roasted, and stuffed. Enter the narrator, a quick-thinking young girl whose big brother Hank used to tease that "girls could never be farmers." Her solutions are even more far-fetched than the roasted flock of geese: she bakes a huge loaf of bread to lure in the crows with their great fanning wings; and, when that doesn't work, she plants lettuce to cool the air. Iceberg lettuce. The bold illustrations are incredibly clear and lively and contribute significantly to each scene's general disarray and commotion. Using acrylic, oil, and colored pencils, Goto has created full-page panoramas balanced on the same fine line between reality and fantasy as the story. Younger children will enjoy the prescribed exaggeration and silliness, and older children might well be encouraged to create their own.?Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5^-8. When a passing heat wave gets snagged on the barn's weather vane, strange things start happening: the mercury blasts out of the porch thermometer like a rocket; a flock of geese flies in one side of the stalled heat wave and emerges from the other plucked, stuffed, and roasted; Ma's flowers pull themselves up by their roots and flee into the shade. And--well, you get the idea; though the story ostensibly takes place in Kansas, it's clearly Tall Tale Country we're visiting, instead. It's finally up to a plucky young farm girl to save the day with an ingenious scheme involving produce (lettuce give credit where credit's due!). Goto's hot-colored pictures are as over-the-top as the eye-popping tale. For further tall-tale fun, don't forget Sid Fleischman's classics about McBroom and his wonderful one-acre farm. Michael Cart

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Co (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802786448
• ISBN-13: 978-0802786449
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The cream of the crop, January 7, 2000

By 

"ttbear" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heat Wave (Hardcover)

Again terrific illustrations in a children's book. The colors are dynamic and the silliness will grab your attention on every page. The author takes the impossible (only skips a few steps in each process)to make things happen! The ending is a surprise and could only come from Kansas!

3.0 out of 5 stars Eh. A little too much like her other novels, November 8, 2010

By 

Thomas - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heat Wave (Hardcover)

Don't get me wrong, I do like Helen Ketteman. In fact I look specifically for her books from time to time. But this book.....it was a little too much like her others, or if the other is backwards: perhaps they were too much like this one. I felt like I was reading "Luck with Potatoes" all over again.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and amusing, June 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Heat Wave (Library Binding)

My four-year-old has requested this for one of his bedtime stories for over one week running. The story itself is a humourous tall tale about a farm in Kansas. The illustrations are hilarious, and the expressions on the characters (including the farm animals) are expressive and funny. A great children's book, but wacky enough to make adults laugh, too.