The Last Laugh [Hardcover]

Ariane Dewey (Author), Jose Aruego (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Meet a not-so-nice snake, a jittery gopher, and a duck who doesn’t know what he’s in for. But wait: The duck’s not the only one who’s about to be surprised!

This silly book is told with only three words but an abundance of visual expression and panache. It’s a hilarious take on the adage "What goes around comes around," and a refreshing, kid-friendly story of brains over brawn.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–In this nearly wordless fable, a snake sneaks up on various animals, hisses at them, and slithers away with a chuckle. When it tries this prank on a duck overhead, the bird flies down into the snakes belly. Now the snake can only quack, and the other reptiles laugh in response. Soon the bully is overwhelmed by quacking ducks attracted by its noises. The duck emerges and flies off with the others. The snake looks relieved that they appear to have gone, but the first one sneaks up on it and belts out a loud QUACK! The creature is visibly rattled, while the duck flies off with the last laugh. The only words in this book, except for various animal sounds, appear on the last page: This book is dedicated to bullies everywhere. In comic-strip panels, Aruego and Deweys signature pen-and-ink and gouache art is droll and accessible. This lighthearted tale could lead to some interesting discussions of the birds motivations as well as the subject of bullying. Young readers will find the format and the karmic justice of this story appealing.–Rachel G. Payne, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS. No words (save some hisses, quacks, and hee hees) are needed to tell this slapstick story. A big snake bully tries to scare the feathers off every creature he encounters with a well-timed hiss and a quick flick of his forked tongue. One hiss backfires, however, when the snake's latest target, a duck, ends up flying straight into the reptile's gullet. All the bewildered snake can then do is quack, which isn't nearly as intimidating to his potential victims as a hiss. What goes 'round comes 'round when the duck, who eventually climbs out of the snake's throat, sneaks up and shoots a terrifyingly loud quack at him from behind. The comical artwork reflects a once-smug snake who dissolves into quivery lines of fear and squiggles of humiliation. The horizontal format lends itself well to the comic-strip-style frames with appealingly simple compositions of colorful animals on crisp white backgrounds. The opening endpapers are abundant "hisses" and the closing ones are "hee hees," the literal last laugh. A simple revenge-is-sweet tale, "dedicated to bullies everywhere." Karin Snelson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dial (March 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803730934
• ISBN-13: 978-0803730939
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 9.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,410,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Snake that Quacks???, February 3, 2011

By 

Sweet on Books (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Laugh (Hardcover)

This is a great choice for younger kids. The story is simple, the snake is slithering around sneaking up on friends and hissing at them, scaring the heck out of them. This delights the snake until he sneaks up on a duck and accidentally eats it! Then, the only noise the snake can make is a quack. All the other snakes think this is hilarous, which depresses the snake. Then the duck pops out of the snake and flies away with all his friends. The snake's final insult is when the duck comes back unseen, sneaks behind the snake and scares any stray hisses right out of him. This poor snake really gets his comeuppance.

Because of its almost total lack of words, this book really allows the reader to be in the driver's seat. You can manipulate the story as you see fit, to work in whatever your situation happens to be. The story can be beneficial in so many ways. It can just be used as the entertaining story that it is. It can also be used to warn a bully in the making, giving a young prankster concrete evidence that jokes can hurt. It also can be used to empower a young child to understand what a bully is and how to stand up for him/herself. Finally, it would make a great read-aloud to a group, allowing much discussion about community and kindness.