Say What? [Hardcover]

Margaret Peterson Haddix (Author), James Bernardin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2005 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

Sukie is worried -- her parents are acting strange. When she runs in the house, her dad asks, "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump off a bridge too?" When she eats peas with her fingers, Mom yells, "You'll put an eye out with that thing!"

What is going on? Have her parents been replaced by aliens? Are they robots with broken circuits? She and her older brothers decide to investigate. And what they discover leads to a kids-against-parents WAR!

This very funny book casts a new light on family rules.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4--Siblings Sukie, Reed, and Brian (ages six, seven, and nine) are horrified and a little frightened when their parents respond inappropriately to their misbehavior. Mom and Dad's robotic admonitions are completely unrelated to the misdeeds: Dad tells Sukie not to pick her nose when she drops glitter on the carpet, Mom tells Brian to shut the door when he spills orange juice in the kitchen. Discovering the reason for this weirdness (the adults are following the advice in a magazine article about how to encourage kids to listen to their parents), the siblings get mad and declare war. This breezy sitcom of a story is an easy read with lightly developed characters, funny situations, and brisk pacing. The large font and energetic black-and-white illustrations will be inviting to readers transitioning to chapter books.--Susan Patron, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. Six-year-old Sukie is worried about her parents. They are saying typical parent things, but at the wrong times. When Sukie is caught scooping peas with her fingers at the dinner table, she expected to hear, "Don't eat with your fingers!" Instead her mom says, "You'll put an eye out with that thing!" Sukie's older brothers don't notice the weird comments; they stopped listening to their parents long ago. That's precisely what Sukie's folks are trying to change by implementing a behavior plan they read about in New Ways of Parenting. After the kids discover the plan, they decide to match their parents' nonsense talk with some of their own. It all makes for some very funny exchanges before everyone calls it quits and the kids draft a peace treaty. Lighthearted and humorous, this easy chapter book is made all the more appealing by Bernardin's comical black-and-white illustrations. Lauren Peterson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 91 pages
• Publisher: Perfection Learning (September 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756954657
• ISBN-13: 978-0756954659
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,124,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up on a farm outside Washington Court House, Ohio. As a kid, I liked to read a lot, and was also involved in 4-H, various bands and choirs (I played flute and piano), church youth group, the school newspaper, and a quiz-bowl type team. I was pretty disastrous as an athlete, although I did run track one year in high school. After graduating from Miami University (of Ohio), I worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a part-time community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois, before my first book was published. I've moved around a lot as an adult, having also lived in Luxembourg (during a college semester abroad) and in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. Several years ago, I moved back to Ohio with my husband and kids; we now live in Columbus, Ohio. My husband trains investigative journalists, and my kids are in high school, so there's always a lot going on around our house.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a enjoyable story for young readers, May 18, 2004

By 

KidsReads (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Say What? (Ready-for-Chapters) (Hardcover)

Something is definitely wrong in the Robinson household. Mom and Dad's responses to the children's misbehavior are completely unrelated to their actions. For example, when Sukie kicks her brother Brian, her mother responds, "Waste not, want not." Another time Sukie is running through the living room with glitter in her hand. When the glitter spills, her father's response is, "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump off a bridge too?"

Sukie talks to her brothers about these bizarre occurrences. They are determined to learn why their parents are acting so strangely and decide that they must be bad on purpose in order to gather evidence. After overhearing their parents talking, the kids finally understand what's going on. This leads to a kids-against-parents WAR.

Who exactly will win the war of the words --- the children or the adults? You will have to read SAY WHAT? to find out.

The jokes in this book go on a little too long, but young readers will enjoy the humorous situations and detailed pencil drawings. SAY WHAT? is an easy read for those children just making the transition to chapter books.

--- Reviewed by Renee Kirchner (...)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book By MPH!!!, April 28, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Say What? (Ready-for-Chapters) (Hardcover)

Great book! Very funny and cute. Story Line:
Sukie, Reed, and Brian are confused. Their parents are saying weird things, normal parent-speaks, but at the wrong time! The kids find out that Mom and Dad got the idea from a magazine. It's supposed to turn children into sweet angels wanting their parents to tell them to do a chore. The kids aren't happy about it and decide that this means war! They do the same thing back, Sukie spills her milk and when Mom says 'No, you can't have a snack, dinner is in 5 minutes.' Sukie says 'Reed had more than me.' Hilarious! A short book, but funny, none the less.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sunshine State Readers Award, August 6, 2007

By 

L M Kellogg "lmkellogg" (FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Say What? (Ready-for-Chapters) (Paperback)

This review is for the Grades 3-5 Sunshine State Readers Award:

After a lot of research I have found that there are only 4 books on the list that are appropriate for the younger 3rd grade reader. They are Say What?, Drita My Homegirl, Christopher Mouse and Wildfire. The rest of the list is simply to difficult for the younger readers. My daughter reads at a 3.7 level and even these books have higher vocabulary and more mature subject content then what she usually reads.