From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3--This amusing tale in rhyme plays on a familiar fear of having an undesirable creature lost in the house. When Sid comes home with a snake that he wants to keep as a pet, Ma expresses strong reservations, but his parents decide to sleep on the decision. At breakfast the next morning, the boy announces that Jake is nowhere to be found, setting off an easily imagined level of hysteria. A hilarious hullabaloo ensues as everyone fears Jake's slithery presence and the family goes to the extreme of camping outside until the animal's whereabouts can be determined. Only Sid, and, to a lesser extent, Pa, are concerned for the reptile's safety. All's well that ends well when the snake is discovered in the most ironic of spots. Wacky, off-kilter illustrations serve this humorous tale well. From the youngest to the oldest, all of the relatives are portrayed with the same corkscrew curls done up in different styles. Levity and good fun give this story broad appeal.
--Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PreS. Is there a snake hiding somewhere in the house? When Sid tells the family that his pet snake, Jake, is gone, Ma and Aunt Annie screech hysterically. Dad laughs, "until, by mistake, / he sat on a hot dog and thought it was Jake." The ding-dong rhyme and wild watercolor pictures extend the farce, as flashes of Jake's neon-green color are suddenly everywhere. Is Jake in the bed? In the closet? Inside a book? In Grandpa's take-out noodle lunch? Under the rug? But it's not only scary, it's also sad that Sid's pet is gone, so the family makes a plan to help find Jake--which leads to one last surprise. With just the right combination of shivers and slapstick comedy, this is a read-aloud that makes the coziest household objects suddenly a source of delicious, slithery fun.
Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved