Customer Reviews

Skippyjon Jones (Puffin Storytime)

5 star:		(156)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

"Skippyjon Jones" is so good on so many levels. It may just be the perfect children's book. No, the Platonic IDEAL of what a children's book should be...I'm that enamored of it!
First, the plot is hilarious. Skippyjon is a Siamese cat with a fantastic imagination. His mother scolds him for being so un-catlike and sends him to his room "to think about what it means to be a Siamese cat." But of course Skippyjon doesn't think for long. His imagination takes over and poof! He's a famous sword-fighting chihuahua off on an adventure in old Mexico. He defeats Alfredo Buzzito, "el blimpo bumblebeeto bandito" and wins back all the beans Buzzito has stolen from Los Chimichangos, a band of desert-dwelling chihuahuas. And of course the noise of this adventure eventually brings him back to reality, with his mother and sisters scolding him again, but in such a fond and loving way that we're left feeling only their affection for the little kitty-boy scamp.
Next, there are the pictures. Young readers and experienced readers both will enjoy the very funny illustrations, which include clues about just how Skippyjon GETS those wild ideas.
Finally, there is the diction. The language in this book is inspired. It rollicks. It rolls. It plays with the audience, teases and tickles and delights little ears. And "holy guacamole," it sure is fun to read aloud!
Thank you, Judith Schachner!

My 5 year old really enjoys this books with the silly rhymes and play on words. This story is about a child-cat and his imagination. The play on spanish words aren't meant to be racist, it shows how a young kitten (similar in his personality to a young child) may interpret how they hear things. It never shows the spanish chihuahuas as being any kind of bad stereotypes. Just as some Pups in need of a little rescuing from a Zorro style hero.

To me, the books relate to how young ones work into their imaginary play new languages and ideas on culture. Chihuahuas are thought to be spanish, so SkippyJon, a child-cat, will 'interpret' the language and customs in his own way, with what little knowledge he has, while pretending to be a chihuahua.

Also, to reference a particular point someone made on why the book is so stereotypical, the true reason behind adding the -O after words that aren't spanish is NOT done to suggest that it automatically makes a word spanish. Its done to fit into the song rhythm its meant to go with, and to rhyme with other words.

In the end, if you are concerned about it, teach your child the true customs and explain that the book is about word play between english and spanish, and is make believe and silly. Or, of course, don't read the book at all. But don't be so self-righteous as to denounce the book as racist, because racist is an ugly term that these playful books do not deserve.

schachner's book is superb! while it is, technically, a children's book, it is one of the very favorites of both my wife and me (and our daughter)! the details of the plot are discussed by other reviewers accurately and completely. as my introduction to schachner's work, i've searched out her other work. while it is hilarious, clever, and pictorially very appealling, the thing that is most important to me is that it makes the time that i get to spend with our children reading more fun than we'd ever imagined it could be (and we're all avid readers). there could be some out there who could be offended on the grounds that it could be seen as politically incorrect. i don't. i find it a terrific book, i'd give it 6 stars if amazon allowed it, and i think that it is well worth the full purchase price. i hope that schachner continues her creative works.

I don't see how anyone can find these Skippyjon books racist or inappropriate in any way- the kids love it, they're funny, and by the way, I'm Mexican and find it not at all offensive. Lighten up! They are not denegrating, they are simply funny- give the Mexican chihuahuas credit- they can speak a second language- can you?! Would you find it offensive if an English character used British "isms", or a French character wore a beret? Ate some French bread? Have fun reading- all her books have so far amused my 3-5 year olds.

This book was so much fun to read aloud! My 4 year old son liked it and I just LOVED it from an adult perspective. My children are 1/4 Mexican, and I did not have a problem reading it to them.

Some of the other reviewers have said it is "racist", I am assuming because Skippyjon uses a Mexican accent when he is pretending to be "El Skippito". The accent is cute in this context, not degrading, and I consider myself overly sensitive to racism because all of my three children are multi-ethnic (African-American, Mexican, and Japanese between them).

I would also like to add that I have been to readings by Mexican-American writers who used the same Mexican accent as Skippyjon when presenting their own work. This was not their normal accent, but they used it as a device for creating a certain "feel" that was appropriate to the piece they were reading. The one that I am thinking of was about a famous Mexican "bandito", so Schachner's use of it seemed totally appropriate here, since that is exactly who Skippyjon is trying to imitate.

Overall, this is a wonderful book!

I was handed this book by one of my first grade students, not having ever seen the book. I read it during story time and they were SCREAMING with laughter. I had to stop several times. It is a very, very funny book. I admit, I was a little surprised by what I thought could easily be seen as racial themes. Half my class is Latino and they didn't seem upset by it- they were howling with laughter. It is in our school library (with mostly minority children) and was donated by a local family. I decided it's harmless and if the kids love it, relax. It's a great book.

We love this book! My husband and I both love reading SkippyjonJones to the boys. My 6 year old has it memorized, and my 10 year old loves the Zorro like Skippito Friskito. We find ourselves often saying "My ears are too beeg for my head. My head ees too beeg for my body!" The text is so fun, and a delight to read. We all sing along to the songs and the boys love to do the little clap-clap. The pictures are wonderful! We will never eat rice and beans again, it will always be "mice and beans" for us from now on! Don't hesitate, buy this book, you will enjoy it immensely!

My sons think this story is hilarious. I like that it shows imagination and has a funny ending. I highly recommend it.

As a teacher, I crave books such as this one: it's the centerpiece to a unit on using the imagination. With a group of kindergartners, I opened a unit on rhythmic movement by reading the book to them.

Who doesn't love the idea of a small kitten with a huge imagination? The kids laugh at this antics and enjoy acting the book out once we've gone through it once. After reading the book and acting it out in the classroom, we then take to the outdoors or to another room where we create our own "Skippy Jon Jones" adventures. Kids pretend their the little siamese kitten who thinks he's a chihuahua and come up with their own adventures. They enjoy showing the class their own stories or telling their own stories.

Recently, I used this on a rainy day and we had a blast burning off energy as we sang out some of the poems and acted out our own stories.

He's fun, he's lively, and he's inviting to children of all ages.

My kids love Skippyjon Jones. My 10 year old daughter still asks for these books, even though she can read at a much more challenging level. My six year old daughter laughs out loud at the silly antics of this kitten who thinks he's a dog. I don't find the tone racist at all, but playful. It's like trying to get into the mind and imagination of a child, NOT an easy task to do. The tone of the books reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes a bit...soooo much fun. What could be better than actually having fun as a parent when reading with your child? A negative reviewer asked if one would feel comfortable reading this aloud in front of a Mexican. My answer: absolutley...and they could make fun of my horrible accent and we could laugh about it together. I really don't understand the naming of these books by some as racist. I think that's a bit of a leap. We thoroughly enjoy these books...can't wait to get more!