You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Michael Emberley (Illustrator) "I'm Goldilocks..." (more)
Key Phrases: Baby Bear

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-A companion to the popular You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together (Little, Brown, 2001), this book offers eight fairy tales to inspire a wonderful read-aloud experience for two voices. The color and placement of the text on the pages indicate the different parts. For example, "The Little Red Hen" begins with voice one, in orange type: "I'm Little Red Hen./I planted the wheat./I dug up the soil/In the dust and the heat." Then, voice two, in magenta: "And I am the Duck/And I have to admit/That I did not help her,/Not one little bit." Each tale ends with both participants sharing the refrain: "You read to me./I'll read to you." Hoberman doesn't offer full renditions of the stories, but rather uses the characters and one or two plot elements to create retellings that will entice children and encourage them to keep reading. The selections all have happy endings; in "Jack and the Beanstalk," the ogre agrees to share some of his treasure with the boy, and Little Red Riding Hood takes the Big Bad Wolf out to lunch where they read together while waiting for their food. The verses are rarely forced or faltering, and the two voices join seamlessly together to create a truly delightful reading ensemble. Emberley's humorous illustrations feature expressive characters drawn in pen, watercolor, and pastel, and are liberally scattered throughout the text.
Shelley B. Sutherland, Niles Public Library District, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. Like You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together (2001), this is an exuberant picture-book read-aloud with short, rhymed, illustrated scenarios for two voices. This time the eight stories are fairy tales--fractured fairy tales--and, as Hoberman says in her introduction, new readers will need to know the originals in order to enjoy the fun. In fact, even seasoned older readers will love the parody. Little Red Riding Hood takes Grandma and a starving wolf to a restaurant for lunch. Goldilocks befriends Baby Bear and takes him home with her to get some porridge (since she ate up all of his). Each story ends with former enemies reading together. Cinderella, for example, invites her gross sisters to live with her in the palace, and they share a good book while the prince reads nearby. Emberley's clear comic-style pictures are hilarious. The big but vulnerable ogre in "Jack and the Beanstalk" has a nose ring and earrings, and a cool Jack in sunglasses and high-heeled boots makes a deal. Great for readers' theater. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316146110
• ISBN-13: 978-0316146111
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,741 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is grand / I do not lie / When it is through / Your kids shall cry, September 15, 2005

By	E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Patron walks into my library the other day and demands a video that will teach their child how to read. Due to the fact that my library only carries Sesame Street videos that deal with holidays or sing songs, there wasn't much to offer. But the patron's demand got me thinking. Finding good materials that help children to read can be awfully difficult sometimes. Books for early readers tend to be dull (like your average "Dick and Jane" fare) or facile. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, and one of the most notable exceptions is the remarkable, "You Read To Me, I'll Read To You". This is a book that has killed roughly four birds with a single stone. It helps kids to read, rhymes beautifully, introduces them to a wide variety of fairy tales, and is funny. Really honest-to-goodness funny. This is a book that parents will not cringe to read over and over with their young 'uns. Hoberman has given us a book that is going to be appreciated by a wide range of ages. All that and it's a clever idea to boot.

Here's the premise. Each story in this book is a fairy tale. Each fairy tale is a conversation between two characters. It is meant to be read aloud by either two beginning readers or between a beginning and a more-advanced reader. After picking their parts the readers alternate lines, rhyming all the while. So, for example, in "The Three Bears" we have one reader say, "I'm Goldilocks" and another say "I'm Baby Bear". "What pretty fur!". "What pretty hair!". You get the idea. Anything written in blue is meant to be read by both readers at the same time and every poem/story ends with the lines, "You'll read to me! I'll read to you!". There are seven stories altogether and each one softens the original tale just a bit. I was surprised to see references to the Grimm version of Cinderella as well as the original ending of The Three Little Pigs. As it happens, however, no one gets eaten or hurt in these tales and in each case everyone ends the tale happily ever after.

This is not the first edition of "You Read To Me, I'll Read To You" to grace shelves around the world, you know. In fact, this book is a sequel to a predecessor of the same name that came out in 2001. Inanely, both versions have their reviews linked together here at Amazon.com. I'll state right here and now that this particular review that I am writing refers to the 2004 edition with the fairy tales in it. Let's just clarify that little detail once and for all.

Now the pairing of author Mary Ann Hoberman with illustrator Michael Emberley is nothing short of brilliant. While Hoberman has the almost unnatural ability of simplifying stories down to their essential parts, tacking on happy endings without sounding preachy, AND adding humor as well, Emberley is just as adept at pictures that are adorable, simple, and full of delightful details. Note that Jack in "Jack and the Beanstalk" is decked out in an utterly mod outfit, complete with tiger-striped shirt and go-go boots. Note also that when the third pig (at first) attempts to cook the wolf in a pot, he is holding a book called, "Cooking Lupine". Visual gag, meet fabulous wordplay. How do you do? How do you do?

So if a patron comes in asking me for a simple rhyming book that will help their child to read, I will be prepared. I shall promote this book as loudly as my indoor-librarian-voice allows me to. This is one of those rare buys that need to be touted widely to the public. A great exercise in reading and a necessary addition to every English-language-library.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful book, January 4, 2007

By	Vae Victus (IL United States) - See all my reviews

I love this book. When I leave it out on the shelf in the classroom, the kids actually ask to read it. They love reading to each other. Perfect for bilinguals or kids just starting out.

My own kids and I can still recite parts of it from memory ("I found a dime! You found a dime? I found a dime at dinnertime!") The illustrations are adorable and are entertaining all on their own. Buy it and share!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book to get kids reading!!, March 28, 2006

By	Darshayna W. (Ohio) - See all my reviews

I am thoroughly impressed with this book! My son, a second grader, and I read it together. He enjoyed it as much as me and he had already read it with his classroom teacher. I plan on getting my third graders to read the fairytales to each other and then perform them for younger classrooms. The fairytales are classics but the author, Mary Ann Hoberman, gives the characters a little more attitude which livens the stories up for readers.