Sitting Down to Eat [Hardcover]

Bill Harley (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

A young boy's snacktime is interrupted by a visit from an elephant. As soon as he moves over to make room, they are joined by a tiger ... and a hippo ... and a big blue whale ... and soon a full menagerie, each insisting there's room for one more.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3. This appealing, cumulative tale features a boy who opens his door to an ever-growing group of animals; he politely invites each new arrival to join him for lunch, until the overcrowded house explodes. Readers are placed right inside the famous mitten of the Ukrainian folktale (a derivation Harley points out in an author's note, with a special nod to Jan Brett). Harvill's kinetic-looking, highly stylized cut-paper illustrations match the story's energy and achieve an offbeat attitude to elevate Harley's neat rhymes. The familiar animals (an elephant, a rhino, a tiger, a whale, a caterpillar, etc.) and foods (pizza, birthday cake, popcorn, etc.), are recognizable through their stylizations. With a formula right out of Bill Martin's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Holt, 1983) and Sue Williams's I Went Walking (Harcourt, 1990), Sitting Down to Eat doesn't test any uncharted waters, but its bright interpretation shines with its own light. The text is slightly adapted from the lyrics of Harley's song by the same title, found on Come On Out and Play (Round River, 1996) and Big Big World (A&M, 1993). The lyrics land successfully on the printed page, where they bounce along with their own rhythm, no music given and none necessary.?Liza Bliss, Worcester Public Library, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Sitting Down To Eat ($15.95; Sept. 1996; 32 pp.; 0-87483-460- 0): A song becomes a cumulative rhyming story about a child sitting down to eat, repeatedly interrupted by knocks at the door and animals clamoring to join in. ``If I've got enough for me, yes, that's true./If I've got enough for me,/I've got enough for you./Come on in!'' The rhymes maintain a strong beat; children will love shouting out refrains, as well as the ``BOOM'' that brings the house down when one last visitor is admitted. With Harvill's frenetic cut-paper collages, this is playful and lively. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: August House (December 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874834600
• ISBN-13: 978-0874834604
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #755,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A two-time Grammy award-winning artist, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the RI Council for the Humanities, Bill uses song and story to paint a vibrant and hilarious picture of growing up, schooling and family life. His work spans the generation gap, reminds us of our common humanity and challenges us to be our very best selves. A prolific author and recording artist, Bill is also a regular commentator for NPR's "All Things Considered" and featured on PBS. He joined the National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence in 2001 and tours nationwide as an author, performing artist and keynote speaker.


Bill began singing and storytelling in 1975 while still in college. His work has influenced a generation of children, parents, performing artists and educators. Bill's songs are joyous, direct and honest, his stories are filled with the details of daily life - all told and sung from his slightly off-center point of view.

"Humor is my weapon," says Harley of his award-winning recordings. A two-time Grammy winner, Bill's recordings have also garnered numerous other national awards including Parents' Choice, NAPPA (National Association of Parenting Publication Awards), ALA (American Library Association) and the highest honor from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio for his concert DVD, "Yes to Running!" filmed in conjunction with Montana PBS.


Bill's trademark wit and wisdom can also be found in his picture books and novels for children. His first novel, The Amazing Flight of Darius Frobisher was chosen by Bank Street School of Education as one of the best children's books of the year and his second novel, Night of the Spadefoot Toads was awarded the Green Earth Book Award as best environmental book of the year in the children's fiction category. His picture books, based on his songs, stories and poems also stand out as 'pick of the list' from ABA and a Storytelling Award Winner. An advocate for children and educators, Bill is currently at work on a book about the culture of schools.

Touring nationally in theaters, schools, libraries, festivals and conferences, as a workshop leader, keynote and inspirational speaker, Bill's work affirms our commonality and reminds us to laugh out loud. In the car, the classroom, at home or on stage, "no one beats Harley for intelligent, polished children's entertainment - he's simply the best." Mothering Magazine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun counting book, February 5, 2009

By 

Michael P. Setto (Anthem, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sitting Down to Eat (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book for a child to learn about sharing and counting without knowing they are while reading this book. We go back to this book all the time as it is very fun and easy to read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sitting Down To Eat, July 22, 2002

By 

Julie (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sitting Down to Eat (Paperback)

This book is put to good use in my Kindergarten classroom. All of the characters are adorable and the children love to hear me read the story out loud. I have created a super lesson where I have the children act out the story wearing costumes that I created resembling each animal. What a wonderful way to learn about sequencing. This offers me a great way to kick off our learning about how to use ordinal numbers.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for all ages!, September 20, 2001

By 

A. Riza (Misawa AB, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sitting Down to Eat (Hardcover)

This is a great read-aloud book, with a fun rhythm to it. I am an elementary school librarian and took this book to school to read to my first and second graders. They had a great time joining in on the "refrain" each time. I wasn't sure how it would go with my older kids, but even the fifth graders got into guessing what animal would come next. Many of my students understand very little English, but they were all enthralled by this book and joined right in. I have long been a fan of Bill Harley's storytelling, and this story coupled with Kitty Harvill's eye-catching pictures is one my favorites! I will be recommending it to fellow librarians in my school district. As a side note, this would be great to use in conjunction with Jan Brett's "The Mitten."