Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash (Harper Growing Tree) [Hardcover]

Sarah Weeks (Author), Nadine Bernard Westcott (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Harper Growing Tree

Your 3-year-old loves the silliness of outrageous stories.

Tips for reading and sharing:

• Your child will also love Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash

• Ask your child to describe the story by looking at the pictures

• Make up other silly events that could happen in the story

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-KAAs soon as Mrs. Nelly McNosh pushes a seed into the soil, it starts to grow into a fat and bumpy squash. It rolls out of the garden flattening the cat, crashing through the clothesline, knocking over trash cans, and scaring the pants off two elderly gents. "Poor Nelly was worried./She said, 'Oh my gosh,/there's got to be some way/to slow down this squash." After wondering what to do with the huge vegetable, the woman has an idea. She scoops and scrapes all night long, and when morning comes, she is curled up in a chair sleeping in her new squash house. This simple plot does not develop the tensions or motivations needed for a satisfying story. Why, for example, did Mrs. McNosh work desperately all night long to make a new house? The rhyming text creates a lighthearted bounce, but some of the rhymes seem forced. The watercolor-and-ink cartoon illustrations provide humor and a clear sense of action and movement. Perhaps some young listeners will enjoy the silliness of a giant, out-of-control plant tamed for a cozy place to sleep, but the undeveloped story line will limit the book's general appeal.
Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 3-5. The winsome star of Mrs. McNosh Hangs up Her Wash (1998) is back in another slapstick adventure, set this time in the garden. The minute Mrs. Nelly McNosh plants a squash seed, the plant starts to grow at an alarming rate. It rumbles out of the yard and into the neighborhood, leaving a flattened cat, scattered laundry, and terrified neighbors in its wake. Mrs. McNosh stops the squash by snapping the stem but wonders what to do with a vegetable "as big as a house." "Wait," she says, "that's it." And after hollowing out the insides, she falls asleep in her new veggie home. Westcott's illustrations, in her usual cheerful brights, extend the text's silliness; when the squash scares "the pants off two elderly gents," the picture shows the men literally leaping from their trousers and fleeing in polka-dot boxers. The rhyming, rollicking text tells an infectious story that will remind children of other enormous vegetable tales, as well as stories of making a home in strange objects, such as Margaret Read MacDonald's The Old Woman in the Vinegar Bottle. A great choice for giggly story hours. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (August 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0694012025
• ISBN-13: 978-0694012022
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,521,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointed in this book!, September 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash (Harper Growing Tree) (Hardcover)

As a mother and a substitute teacher I was very disappointed in this book. I thought the story was going to be funny but I found the text to be very abusive!!! When the squash does not behave Mrs. McNosh SPANKS it, KICKS it, SCOLDS it, PINCHES it! I don't think parents and teachers really want children reading this kind of message about behavoir. We strive to discipline and correct in a more civil manner. To some the squash may be an inanimate object but it personifies a childs misbehavior and a parental reaction to it!! You can not read this book and laugh it off by saying "silly, silly." The abusive message is too strong. I sincerely do not recommend anyone reading this book to their child or student.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More McNosh, please, August 11, 2007

By 

Savvy Sal (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash (Harper Growing Tree) (Hardcover)

My kids adore Mrs. McNosh. They loved her when she hung up the wash and they love her when she's dealing with the big squash. Fun to read aloud.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, funny, funny!, March 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash (Harper Growing Tree) (Hardcover)

Sarah Weeks has done it again - she has created a very funny, lovable character with Mrs. McNosh - the rhyming and the wording and the pictures work so well together - kids love it! Can't wait for another Mrs. McNosh book!