Raining Cats and Dogs: A Collection of Irresistible Idioms and Illustrations to Tickle the Funny Bones of Young People (Hardcover)

~ (Author, Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1–5—In this highly appropriate pairing of folk art and sayings, Moses explains many common idioms. A colorful definition (e.g., "Kick the bucket means: A sassy way of saying someone died"), a sample sentence, and one of Moses's old-fashioned Americana-style oil paintings accompany each phrase. The lesson is kept lighthearted through examples that play upon the literal meanings of each phrase, often to comedic effect. Cats and dogs literally rain down from the sky upon rosy-cheeked ladies with parasols and opera gloves. A brass-buttoned captain and his crew are left "high and dry" when a whale lifts their boat out of the water, and a toad marries his mate, "warts and all." One somewhat thorny image is the depiction of a shirtless African American surrounded by clothed white people. The delicate details of the illustrations will be best appreciated by independent readers. Old-timey souls, folk-art students, and new Americans seeking to understand our many interesting phrases will appreciate Moses's contribution to the collective American heritage.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI
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From Booklist

This irreverent picture book takes a look at various well-known (and a few lesser-known) figures of speech that children may have noticed and puzzled over. Moses presents one or two idioms per page, along with a short explanation of their meaning, a sentence using it in context, and an illustration depicting a scene of the phrase taken literally. “Operating on a shoestring” is accompanied by a team of doctors cutting open a worried looking shoelace, and “The last straw” shows the losing straw crossing the finish line of a race. The pictures are cute, folksy, funny, and likely to stick in the minds of little ones whether or not they really grasp why it is these peculiar phrases exist. To that end, the book might have been better served by including explanations of the idioms’ origins, or even a note on what an idiom is instead of just jumping right in to the frivolity. In any case, this does show that taking an interest in language can be fun. Grades K-3. --Ian Chipman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (September 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399242333
• ISBN-13: 978-0399242335
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #64,690 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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