Hoover's Bride [Hardcover]

David Small (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

The absurd rhyming story of a man who marries a vacuum only to have his love stolen by a lawnmower. The silly moral to the story and the giddy rhymes bring back memories of Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up-The front cover of this book is in the form of a formal wedding invitation and it invites readers to the marriage of man and machine at the swanky Dunes Hotel. How Oliver Hoover and his bride Elektra, a Vac-U-Lux model #O-U-QT vacuum cleaner, met and were married is told in amusing rhyming couplets. When Mr. Hoover finds his bride missing, he quickly takes steps to find her, but gets off the track when he meets a woman in similar distress. Her husband, a power lawn mower, is also missing. The human couple fall in love immediately, are married, and live happily ever after, she pushing a hand mower and he flitting about with a feather duster. And the machines? They are seen rusting in the city junk yard, unable to go anywhere without humans to provide the power. The moral: Humans shouldn't depend solely on machines because they can't get anywhere by themselves. The witty cartoon illustrations in watercolor, pen, and black ink are well suited to the nonsense verse. Even though the couplets don't scan perfectly, the humor carries them. This story may be outrageous for some, but it's all in fun and the moral makes it worth considering in these machine-dominated times.
Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, VT
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4^-8. This exuberantly loopy romance will delight the silly. Hoover is a bachelor whose slovenliness has led to mountainous piles of dust inside his home. Following an interior avalanche, he is reformed by the timely loan of a vacuum cleaner. In this case, cleanliness is next to amorousness, and Hoover falls head over heels in love with the gleaming machine: "Her name was Elektra. He bought her a ring --/ And he didn't buy her just any old thing. / A grapefruit-size diamond was what Hoover chose / In a size that would fit on the end of her hose." After being pronounced Man and Appliance, the two head for a honeymoon by the sea, where they encounter another mixed couple, a woman with a lawnmower for a husband. Alas, mechanical love proves fickle, as lawnmower and vacuum cleaner shortly run off with each other. But Hoover and his new lady friend soon find annulments and a more conventional life together. Family values triumph again. Leone McDermott

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 350 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (September 19, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517597071
• ISBN-13: 978-0517597071
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,486,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Small is the recipient of the Caldecott Medal, a Christopher Medal, and the E. B. White Award for his picture books, which include "The Gardener" (with Sarah Stewart, 1997 Caldicott Honor, Christopher Medal), "So You Want to Be President?" (2001 Caldicott Medal), "George Washington's Cows," "Ruby Mae Has Something to Say," "Eulalie and the Hopping Head," "Fenwick's Suit," "Imogene's Antlers," "Paper John," "Hoover's Bride," "Hoover's Bride," and "Stitches," (2009 National Book Award nominee, Amazon Best of the Month, September 2009), and many others. Small's drawings have appeared in the New Yorker and the New York Times. He lives in Mendon, Michigan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for the Child at Heart, October 18, 2006

By 

Spudman (Pasadena, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Hoover's Bride (Scholastic Bookshelf) (Paperback)

Not since the fabulous tale of acrobat potatoes "Brave Potatoes" have I been so captivated, mesmerized, enraptured by such a wonderful book. Zany, Wacky, Funny, Imaginative, I Married a Hoover is Dr. Seuss for the older kids, complete with rhyme, ridiculous situations, offbeat likable characters, humorous, titillating illustrations, and more fun than an all you can eat potato buffet.
No, "Hoover's Bride" is not educational, but so what. Its fun, offbeat humor is a fulfilling joy, and the accompanying graphics just add to the delirium. Hand this baby to a reluctant reader and watch what happens.

I loved this book, and everyone to whom I showed it couldn't hold back a smile.

5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous, July 25, 2007

By 

M. Vrieze "Rainbows" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hoover's Bride (Scholastic Bookshelf) (Paperback)

Hoover has a very messy house. It gets so messy that he gets himself a vacuum. He falls in love with this vacuum and literally marries it. Well soon the vacuum falls in love with a lawn mower that was married to a woman. Soon the woman and the man are married and the machines are married.

This book reminds me of how people love their things so much they might as well be married to them.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Kids--and parents!, January 4, 2007

By 

E. M. Johnson (pittsburgh) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hoover's Bride (Scholastic Bookshelf) (Paperback)

This is one of our all time favorites. Very quirky and creative, it is written in verse that my children loved. They were so involved and interested, and I read it so many times, that they memorized it and were able to "read" it to me well before they went to school. The drwaings are interesting and detailed, appealing to both kids and adults. Two thumbs up!