Jingle Bells (First Flight Books Level Two) [Paperback]

Maryann Kovalski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 1998 | Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: First Flight Books Level Two

Grandma is full of surprises when she takes Jenny and Joanna on a special carriage ride through the snowy streets.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Grandma takes Jenny and Joanna on a plane ride to New York City where they pile into a horse and carriage and set off through a snowy Central Park. There they sing a rousing chorus of "Jingle Bells" (the music is included, on the same page). Faced with an empty driver's seat (the driver has been neatly dethroned by a tree), Grandma takes the reins, and despite traffic and one-way streets, gets the girls safely to bed where they wearily fall asleep. The silliness of the adventure is defined in one of the early scenes of Joanna and Jenny misbehaving on a planeintended to be comic, their actions may alarm some parents. As a presentation of a popular song, this serves the purpose, but as innovation, it lags behind the author's ebullient The Wheels on the Bus. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"This offering has the kind of unity that only an author-illustrator can produce, and it’s a hoot. The jokes play out between words and pictures . . . Incorporating the lyrics to "Jingle Bells," this reader makes use of the common-sense but powerful fact that it’s easier to read words when you know them already. Find a six-year-old and enjoy." - starred review, Quill and Quire

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 39 pages
• Publisher: Fitzhenry and Whiteside; 1 edition (August 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155041383X
• ISBN-13: 978-1550413830
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,227,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open carriage...., December 14, 2008

By 

Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jingle Bells (First Flight Books Level Two) (Paperback)

"Jingle Bells"--this version of Jingle Bells--has a subtitle: "An Adaptation of the Traditional Song." You have been notified that this is not your open sleigh. Very well, let's begin.

"Jenny and Joanna woke up early." Their Grandma is taking them on an airplane for a trip to New York. At the hotel they see a line of carriages and choose the "biggest and shiniest" as theirs (which is strange because the three of them completely fill the seat). The girls are about five and nine. Grandma is short and stout.

As they drive through Central Park, the tinkling of the bells on the harness is the only sound. It is also snowing. Grandma says, "Let's sing!" They sing Jingle Bells. Because the driver is standing to sing, he is knocked out of the carriage by a tree limb. Grandma eventually works her way into the driver's seat and slows the galloping horses. Not knowing the path, Grandma drives them one way the wrong way into traffic.

Still, she's a grandma and grandmas know just what to do. And she does, and the men help her, and they arrive back at the hotel.

The artwork by Maryann Kovalski is perfect--vaguely impressionistic like a memory, full-paged, and colorful. "Jingle Bells" is such a fun, pleasant, endearing story about Christmas complete with New York and snow and a wild carriage ride. You can't beat that.