Customer Reviews

Mucumber McGee and the Half-Eaten Hot Dog

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While I don't own this gem yet, I will! The dark, moody illustrations are reminsient of Gorey and Grimly. The rhyming verses are hilarious as Mucumber melodramaticcally prepares to die after eating one half of a cold hot dog. Beautiful and silly!

This title was reviewed by Three Silly Chicks - Readers, Writers, and Reviewers of funny books for kids. [...]



Mucumber McGee is feeling a little peckish. Alas, there is nothing in the house to eat! He scours the pantry and looks through every cupboard - all of them bare. Luckily, the icebox holds a great surprise! Tucked in the very back is one single, solitary raw hotdog. Mucumber snarfs down half of the hotdog before his sister arrives with terrible news. "Don't you know, Mucumber, that hotdogs are made of meat? And fleshy meat that is not cooked is deadly bad to eat!"

As his sister explains, Poor Mucumber is destined to die. She even has a diagram to illustrate the effects of eating a raw tube steak: innards + bacterium + the theory of relativity = death! It's all over for Mucumber. He's toast! There's nothing to do but go to his room and wait for the end. Luckily, Mucumber's mother is much wiser than his sister and all's well that ends well. Of course, all is even better that ends in a great feast for a very hungry boy!

This is a simple tale of hunger and the power of suggestion illustrated in a delightfully dark and slightly sinister style. Loehr mixes his own delightful style with one part Edward Gorey, one part Addams Family, and one part hotdog and comes up with a delicious tale!

I don't know how Caldecott nominations are made, but this book should be given consideration. Outstanding artwork enhances and extends a delightful story. I would love to read more about Mucumber McGee's tribulations and am hopeful that he will be a recurring character in future children's books.

"In a rainy old village
down by the sea,
lived a young boy
named Mucumber McGee."

So the illustrated adventure, Mucumber McGee and the Half-Eaten Hot Dog, written and illustrated by Patrick Loehr, begins. A hungry McGee looks for food in the house, and finds only a single hot dog. He eats half, and his sister cries:

"Don't you know, Mucumber,
that hot dogs are made of meat?
And fleshy meat that is not cooked
is deadly bad to eat!"

Will McGee live or die? How will he spend his last hours? Only his mother knows for sure.

Illustrations in this book are superb. Many of the verses, however, are strangely out of sync, or rhythm. So for the two verses noted above, there are 7, 4, 4, and 6 syllables in the first verse, and 6, 7, 8, and 6 in the second. This probably doesn't bother 6 year olds. Don't expect a "Dr. Sess" type catchy rhythm here. I did.

Again, great illustrations by Loehr.

The previous reviewer put it well. I enjoyed the drama and innocence of the character and loved the expressions and angles of the illustrations. Cute, quick, and easy to read, this book will be read countless times at our house. We hope to see more of Mucumber.

This delightful, dark, and funny tale is one of the favorite requests of my twin four year olds. While paying homage to Dr. Seuss and the Addams Family the illustrations are unique and complex. The book is also a favorite of Dad.

Parick Loehr's artistic and creative talents have created a truly very enjoyable book for children to read and enjoy! My friend's children received this book and have it memorized. It's such a favorite! It looks scary, but it is sweet,funny and delivers a message. The children love the rhyming words, and feel so sorry for Mucumber. Find out why he has a half-eaten hot dog! Enjoy and share this book!

Patrick Loehr's Mucumber McGee books (the other is Mucumber McGee and the Lunch Lady's Liver) are both funny and thought provoking. The illustrations invoke a brooding Victorian or Edwardian atmosphere. The rhyming text is similarly overtly melodramatic. Hidden underneath the fun there are messages on such themes as judging people (and foods) by their substance rather than their appearance, but the books don't preach. A wonderful choice for reading aloud.

So many children's books these days look cute on the outside but the stories have no flow and are hard for mom to read.
This book reads really well and I love the seemingly spooky visuals and the story itself is cute.

I saw these books when I was at my broker's office getting ready to look at houses... Thumbed through them and I knew I had to order them for my daughter the next day! She loves sort of creepy, dark Tim-Burtonesque movies and stories so I knew she would love these... They have a similar look about the illustrations, and the stories themselves are funny and quirky. LOVE these Patrick Loehr books! I've already recommended them to a friend, and I can't wait until he comes out with some more. This one is my favorite, but she prefers "The Lunch Lady's Liver". They are both great books!