Customer Reviews

Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Holy hot tamales, is this book fun! In the latest installment of Skippyjon Jones, our fearless kitty boy decides he is going to travel to Mars, because it is the "red" planet, and red is his favorite color. Like all adventures before this one, he heads to his room, into his closet (with Mama June Bug's bottle of red spice), and he's off in his imagination to the planet Mars. His old friends are waiting there for him, but a new surprise is too. Meet Martian-ito Skippito--Skippy's martian counterpart. Just like his Earthly counterpart, Martian-ito Skippito also has ears too big for his head, his head is too big for his body, and he has the same affinity for using the word "dude". It's Skippyjon's twin and Skippyjon couldn't be happier! The only differences between the two is that Martian-ito Skippito is red, and has only one eye. He is appropriately named "Uno Ojo". Our favorite Kitty Boy thinks he has found his karmic match until a battle for Skippy's favorite sock monkey ensues with Uno Ojo. Skippyjon ends up catapulting himself back to Earth where Mama June Bug is waiting to serve him his dinner, a delectable dish his sister Jilly Boo calls Tuna Poodle casserole.

I love all of Judy Schachner's books in the Skippyjon series, and this one may be her best yet. She still writes phonetically to get the reader to use the voice inflection intended for the Spanish accent. It it seems she may have toned down that part of her signature trademark just a bit this time around, but not in a bad way. She has also added more "authentic" Spanish words to the story, so your child has a chance to learn some new words as the story progresses. Additionally, the book comes with a CD attached to the back cover that makes it fun to use for read-alongs in the car. Children who are Skippyjon Jones fans, as well as kids who love outer space adventures, or just love silly humor will enjoy this book. As usual, it was laugh out loud funny for my kids from start to finish and we can not wait for the next Skippyjon adventure to begin.

Skippyjon has once again had an amazing adventure in his closet. My daughter already has several parts memorized. If you do not yet know Skippyjon I would say this is a good place to start. It has all the imagination of the other books and keeps with the theme of stuff kids would like to do, (go into space, travel back to mummy time, meet dinosaurs.) Skippyjon I love you.

We are big fans of this series, but this one tops them all! We are having so much fun reading this book. We've read it three times and only brought it home a couple of hours ago. We are still laughing at the lines. I'm pleased to say our 8 year-old even got the "Major Tom" line.

There's more Splanglish/Spanish silliness than any of the others. There are also a few treats that parents will find - little sub reference nuggets from the past. Thank you, Judy Schachner. We enjoy her books when children spend the night.

Skippyjonjones always calls his self a Chihuahua ; he always steps in to his closet for Chihuahuas. He calls his self: Skippito Friskito." Oh I'm Skippyjonjones and I jump on my bed , and 1 or 6 times I land on my head" It's very funny that they call It spice instead of space I think that they call It spice is because: the chili powder on Mars is very hot and spicy.

I was going through my kids books and came across this one. It was a gift from their teacher, and I hadn't even realized they owned it. I sat here and read it outloud to my friend and was dying with laughter. I can't wait for the kids to come home from school so I can read it outloud to them...and probably again to my husband. I really love this book and am gong to be looking for more Skippyjon Jones!!! So adorable!

Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice landed at my son's elementary school Book Fair and ever since, I get to hear new words ending in "itos" like astronaut-ito and puppito (a puppy+ito) and martianito. There's more but that's all we can remember right now...

The best part is every morning I get to hear my son say, "Guess what! I had a Skippyjon Jones dream! And I was in it and Skippy was in it. It is never a nightmare." He wakes up happy!

Too cute book with wonderful illustrations that's easy and fun for a kid to read. ***** stars.

We first encountered Skipito at a fellow Spanish teacher's house. She reads it to her child and insisted upon reading it to me and my children. I was blown away! I could not believe that an entire series of books like this existed! Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese kitty who thinks he is actually a Chihuahua named Skipito! If that's not adorable enough, his closet is a magical place where he and the banditos encounter all sorts of fun adventures. This particular book focuses on his adventure in which he gets lost in.... SPICE! Not space, oh no! Spice! Ha! I am afraid that some of the parents complaining about the book and series are those who take reading with their kiddos far too *seriously*. Alliteration and phonetics and silly rhymes are the focus here, and they are what make the naughty little gatito Skipito and his misadventures so much fun! It's like singing the name game, or playing down by the bank, etc. They are nonsensical fun things that also help children LEARN. As for the book being non-PC, we were not offended at all. Culturally, Skippyjon Jones would technically be considered Asian. But his cultural identity crisis causes him to make believe he is Mexican/TexMex/Chicano. The author does an excellent job with the word use as well, in my opinion. I think the purpose and point is to MAKE the parent's reading sound silly and exagerrated! The kids are supposed to be laughing, that's the point people! If you are reading Lost in Spice or any of the other Skipitio books and you and your little ones aren't dying of laughter and enjoying the time you're spending with one another... well folks, that's YOUR fault, not the author's. :)

Lost in Spice was our first introduction to Skippyjon Jones, but my 4-year-old and I immediately fell in love with him. I think I have just as much fun reading this book out loud as my son has listening to it. Schachner's creative use of Spanish phrases and unusual metaphors give readers of all ages a new appreciation for language. Little Skippyjon is always getting into mischief. But he proves without a doubt that you don't even have to leave your room to go on amazing adventures. All you need is a big imagination, and you can go anywhere.

My children have all the Skippy John Jones books. I have to order one for each. They are wonderfull, we wait for the next one to appear.

All of the Skippyjon Jones books have been HUGE hits in my classroom. The students love to hear them and laugh at this kitty boy's antics. From the very first book, Skippyjon has their attention hooked and they can't wait for the next one! A must for any teacher as even 6th graders love it!