Customer Reviews

Timothy Tunny Swallowed a Bunny

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Timmothy Tunny may have swallowed a bunny that got lodged in his throat, but his mother (who notes that the bunny does look funny) points out that at least it's not a goat!

So begins this fun and nonsensical book of short, limerick-like poems for young children. We meet characters with fantastic names like Walter Lackwards (who's head is on backwards) and Mr. McFyfe (who sat on his wife) who have some delightful misadventures through the book. My personal favorite, which demonstrates the silliness of the rhymes, is this one:

THE MAN WHO INSISTS THAT HE DOENS'T EXIST A man who insists That he doesn't exist Keeps jumping in puddles of mud. "I'm glad I'm not here," He says, "for I fear "If I were, I'd be covered with crud."

The illustration shows a man positively COATED with gooey brown mud slipping through a pigpen while holding a dainty cup of afternoon tea. Such are the absurdities of illustrator Kevin Hawkes.

As a teacher, I have found that poetry generally leaves students and young readers cold. Given a choice, most students would prefer to clean out their desks than to write poetry. This is not the case when Mr. Grossman and Mr. Hawkes enter the classroom!! The easy, flowing rhyme and simple A,A,B,C,C,B rhyme structure of the poems makes them lots of fun to listen to and read over and over again. After reading the book, many students, even WITHOUT my prompting, ask if they could write their own "Timmothy Tunny" poems. For a teacher, any book that encourages or inspires students to write creatively of their own accord is worth it's weight in gold!!

The illustrations by Mr. Hawke are large and colorful, filling the whole page to the edges. The colors are vibrant and lively so each page seems to sing out to the reader. I have even seen an art teacher use this book as an example of characture: how to draw peoples' faces to show different emotion and perspective.

Older students and children will like the play on words and the inspiration to create their own poems, and younger children will love the splashy, fun illustrations of Squeaky Clean Keith (who always brushed his teeth) or Skinny Young Jane (who managed to go down the drain). Readers who enjoy this book should also read the other Grossman/Hawkes picture book, "My Little Sister Swallowed One Hare".

Highly recommended!

Bill Grossman has written a rip roarin' collection of funny, silly rhyming poems that will delight and amuse youngsters of all ages. From the woman in town who's afraid that she'll drown... and Bill Hackbar who worked in the snack bar..., to Old Ned, who walks around with a horse on his head..., these poems are full of great, unrivaled characters and hilarious situations that will charm both children and adults. His marvelously witty text is captured in Kevin Hawkes vivid, colorful and very expressive artwork and together they've authored a wonderful read aloud book of poems the whole family can share. So find out what happened when Timothy Tunny swallowed a bunny... and enjoy!

The book has a total of 18 short fun rhymes, that I am sure most kids would love.
The illustrations are very fun, even though the colors are a bit too "muddy" for my taste.
Some of the rhymes *might* not be appropriate for young children (there is one about an ear getting cut off while cutting hair, one about a man with 17 noses (the image is a bit creepy) and one of a kid with his eyes inside out (not as bad as it sounds, but still a bit creepy).
If you have very young children, I would recommend you check out the interior pages before purchasing the book.

I bought this book thinking it would be a cute and funny rhyming book for kids. Boy was I wrong. I read through it quickly and I was shocked at some of the rhymes! Here is an example:

It used to be neat
Playing games in the street
With John B. and Ed B. and Liz B.-
Till we got in the way
Of a dump truck one day.
Now all we're good for is Frisbee.

The illustrations on this page show 3 flattened children on the street and a dump truck driving off in the distance. I am honestly astounded that some people think this is an appropriate book for kids. In my opinion, it certainly is not.

This book is way too dark for children. Ears getting cut off, kids getting run over. We can do better for our children.

Children and adults of all ages will love this hilarious collection of zany poems! Grossman introduces us to an array of memorable characters, from Kevin T. Moses with seventeen noses, to Timothy Tunny, who has a bunny lodged in his throat. In the tradition of Shel Silverstein, Grossman's characters find themselves in absurd situations that will keep you laughing. The poems are teamed up with vivid illustrations by Kevin Hawkes, that accentuate the absurdity of the characters. These expressive illustrations are a perfect compliment to the poems. Overall, this is one book you won't soon forget!

My son is 4 and loved this book. I must have read it 6 times the first night we got it.

My 5 turning 6 year old daughter thinks this book is the greatest (as do I) We have so much fun reading this together, and she has the whole thing memorized. Highly recommend.

Several reviewers have said that this book is "too creepy and dark" for young children. I have to disagree. I have a three year old who loves this book and finds the illustrations and poems delightful. I feel the same way about it and I'm 41! I have a 10 year old and a 7 year old who also love this book. I think the majority of young children would find this book imaginative and entertaining. There may be some parents who don't expose their children to fairy tales and other "dark" stories, but their children are missing out on exciting, stimulating, creative ideas. If a child expresses a fear while you are reading to them, talk with your child about it. Don't attempt to shield them from a book because it has scary ideas. Life is full of scary things. Reading books together and talking about them is an ideal way to help them through their fears. But I believe that there are few children out there who would find this book scary or intimidating in any way.

I totally agree with the parent who said this book was dark! This book is full of young adult, dark humor. This book creeped me out and I'm a twenty something! I came a across this book being a teacher's aide. I couldn't believe that someone (not the teacher) had selected this book for 4 and 5 year olds! The scariest one talked about "Dad" getting caught in a jar, and not being able to get him out! That kind of thing would really scare a young child. This book is more apprioate for a child who is 9 or 10 and is better able to understand the riddles, and knows that those kind of things could never really happen. However, there are a few riddles that that are just silly, and even a young child would laugh at. The rhymes are really creepy, like the original fairy tales, that kind of creepiness. I think this book should only be on the young adult shelf at the stores. The funny thing is that this book is written and geared towards the really young. I truly think that there should be a parent advisory lable on this book, if they are going to put it on the young kids shelf.