Summery Saturday Morning (Picture Puffins) [Paperback]

Margaret Mahy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 1999 | Series: Picture Puffins

This is a story about a group of children and their dogs on an outing. But what starts out as a peaceful summer morning stroll, soon ends up as a slippery wild goose chase.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With bustling watercolors and catchy cadences borrowed from "This is the way we wash our clothes," New Zealanders Mahy (Boom, Baby, Boom, Boom!) and Young (Adam Pig's Everything Fun Book) offer a buoyant story of a walk to the seaside that takes some unexpected turns. The multiethnic party consists of four children and an adult, plus two dogs. The canines get up to high jinks as they chase first a cat, then a boy on a "rattly" bike ("Chasing things is what dogs like/ On a summery Saturday morning"). But the dogs outdo themselves when they go after an unamused family of geese. The children and their caregiver try to catch the dogs but get mired on the beach, a problem deliciously described as: "The mud begins its guggliwugs,/ Its guggliwugs, its guggliwugs./ Our sandals slide like slugliwugs/ On a summery Saturday morning." Young's happy-go-lucky full-bleed cartoons build up to a carnival-like commotion, bouncing with comic discombobulation even as they hint at the panoramic expanse of the landscape. Full of fun, on any morning. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1AA light romp by the seashore that will have children marching along with a family and their dogs as they encounter a boy on his bike, a cat, and several geese. Listeners will delight in the sounds of the language, the lively rhythm, the song-like repetition, and the pleasing rhyme and appreciate the watercolor landscapes. The lively, action-packed illustrations amusingly reflect the changing emotions of the expedition members, from exuberant anticipation to tired retreat from the mud and the geese. Purchase generously and be sure to read this one aloud.ARonald Jobe, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (July 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014056327X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140563276
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,710,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Mahy lives in New Zealand and is internationally acknowledged as one of the most outstanding children's writers today. She is the author of more than two hundred books for children of all ages, two of which have received England's Carnegie Medal and others of which have garnered numerous citations from the American Library Association. She is also the recipient of An Order of New Zealand, the highest honor a citizen can receive. In 2006 she received the Hans Christian Andersen award for her contributions to international children's literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Capturing NZ summers as I remember them, June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Summery Saturday Morning (Hardcover)

Mum takes the kids and the dogs down the track to the beach, past the man mowing his lawns and the woman hanging out the washing, just as you would on a summery Saturday morning in NZ. I love the rhyming and the repetition, and so does my daughter (aged 4. I can see why this book won the NZ Post Children's Book Award in 1999. The ultimate compliment comes from my daughter, who chooses this book again and again, for her own "reading aloud sessions" to selected lucky toys; she can recite each page off by heart. Everyone knows it's the parent who does the reading who needs to be won over since they're the one with the cash to buy books, and this one has definitely warmed my heart.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A BRIGHT AND BREEZY ROMP, November 18, 2000

By 

"hurburgh" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Summery Saturday Morning (Hardcover)

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Margaret Mahy's latest story beautifully captures the simple joys of a group of four children and their two dogs as they head down to the beach on a summer's morning.

The format of the book is particularly effective with clear and bright double page illustrations ( by Selina Young) each with a quatrain of verse.

The story and pictures are enchantingly interlaced , with the rhythm and rhyme reminiscent of "Here we go 'round the Mulberry Bush".

All is not sweetness and light however. There is a showdown between the dogs and mother goose and her seven goslings. The annoyed geese chase our friends back up the hill before they even have a chance to play on the beach.

The moral of the story is .... if you want to walk in peace don't let your dogs chase the geese !

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, funny - and geese sure are scary!, September 17, 2008

By 

Ulyyf "Connie" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Summery Saturday Morning (Hardcover)

I love this book. A woman and four kids - two white, two black, it's not sure how everybody is related, but that's fine - go walking to the beach with two dogs.

Who chase *everything*. Eventually, they chase the geese, and... well...

Let's just say that in real life, geese are vicious creatures that DO NOT BACK DOWN, and they bite, too!

It's very bouncy, nothing really scary happens (not even the geese), and the artwork is well done. For more fun, try singing it to "Mulberry bush" or "I saw three ships".