Off We Go! [Board book]

Jane Yolen (Author), Laurel Molk (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

One by one, mouse, frog, mole, spider, snake, and duck follow a trail to Grandma's house--be it nest or web or bog or tree. Full color. 8 spreads.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Tip-toe, tippity toe
Hip-hop, hippity hop
Dig-deep, diggity deep
Slither-slee, slithery slee
Scritch-scratch, scritchity scratch
Creep-crawl, creepity crawl"

Join Little Mouse, Little Frog, Little Mole, Little Snake, and other baby critters as they creep, scritch, and slither their way to their respective Grandmas' houses. Jane Yolen, award-winning author of many books for young people, including Beneath the Ghost Moon: A Halloween Tale (also illustrated by Laurel Molk), has a knack for creating simple, magical tales of immense appeal to children. Molk's exquisite watercolors, with splashes of green following the frogs, and splotches of red-brown where the moles are digging, are full-page works of art. Young readers will want to climb right into the pages to slither with Little Snake and scritch-scratch with Little Duck. Subtle details, from the tiny flies evading Little Frog's tongue to the lichen-covered rocks under Little Spider's web, add plenty of visual interest to this charming read-aloud. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

"Tip-toe, tippity-toe Over the leaves and down below Off to Grandma's house we go Sings Little Mouse," in Off We Go! by Jane Yolen, illus. by Laurel Molk. Little Frog, Little Mole and others have the same idea in this rhythmic, repetitive jaunt.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Board book: 8 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316909726
• ISBN-13: 978-0316909723
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,335,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Follow the Baby Forest Animals, April 4, 2000

By 

William Fullam - See all my reviews

This review is from: Off We Go! (Hardcover)

Follow some baby forest animals as they scamper and romp their way to grandma's. Delightful watercolors of scurrying little critters, and words of sound and movement accompany the tiny feet as they rush to grandma's house because "grandma's house is always best." A great read aloud and read along for emerging readers. A great tie-in for national poetry month, baby animals, and just sheer language fun.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ilustrations that fly off the page, May 18, 2000

By 

Daniel (Age 13) (Cambridge, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Off We Go! (Hardcover)

The beautiful illustrations of this lyrical story exuberantly fly off the page, mud splattering, water splashing and more. The text - telling how various animals make their way to Grandma's house in all differnt ways - is the type of sing-song sound laden verse that's fun to read and re-read and re-read along with your child ("Tip-toe, tippety toe, Hip-hop, hippity hop, Dig-deep, diggety deep"). But, its the illustrations that make the book sing. Watercolors that are at once delicate and exuberant, Laurel Molk has captured dazzling webs woven by spiders, crumbly earth thrown out by digging moles and mud and pond water following a frog's leap through the air. Great book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Illustrations - Engaging Story, April 4, 2000

By 

A. Jackson (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Off We Go! (Hardcover)

My six year old loves this book. A bit much for her to read on her own, but we enjoy it thoroughly.