And To Think That We Thought That We'd Never Be Friends (Hardcover)

by Mary Ann Hoberman (Author), Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator) "One day we were playing outside in our yard When my brother got mad he pushed me so hard That I pushed him right back-with..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
"We thwacked and we whacked and we walloped away..." lilts the Seussian verse of this exuberant, peace-promoting picture book. When a brother and sister start fighting over croquet one day, it seems as though they'll never stop. Then their little sister happens by and offers them soda pop if they'll make up. Since they're thirsty and tired, this sounds like a pretty good idea. And just like that, the fight is over. Later, when new neighbors begin to make a huge racket with all their musical instruments, the family is all set for another fight. But the noisy neighbors invite the family to join in, and soon the biggest, loudest, most joyful parade ever is underway. More and more people join the procession; suddenly enemies become friends, complainers turn into campaigners, and dogs and cats march paw in paw. Eventually the whole world is united in this giant parade of peace and friendship. And to think that they thought they would never be friends!

Kevin Hawkes's jubilant illustrations fill every page with rich color and wild commotion. Grannies with towering beehive hairdos prance with bagpipe-brandishing boys in Mohawks; babies burst out of tubas, blasting English horns; one pajama'd papa floats ethereally by, tooting his trumpet. The message is plain: make music, not war. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
This utopian tale begins with passing discord between siblings and progresses to a vision of world peace through an enormous parade. Inspired by Dr. Seuss's And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, the light-footed rhythms of Hoberman's (One of Each) text skip blithely from easily resolved family squabbles to a quarrel with a neighbor that begins the burgeoning parade joined by townsfolk, police officers and zoo animals. The lion may not lie down with the lamb, but according to Hawkes's (Weslandia) pulsing and swaying spreads, they will cavort together to band music. Although everyone here unites in song, in the book's first examples, music has no role; those incidents merely point to the transience of anger and seem slightly out of step with the rest of the text. But even those aberrations reflect the infusion of Seuss's spirit in Hoberman's fluid rhythms and rhymes. Hawkes's exaggerated perspectives, bustling crowd scenes and loud colors contribute to the carnivalesque gaietyAespecially when the revelers cross the ocean on the backs of sharks and birds. Youngsters will want to jump in before this parade can pass them by. Ages 5-8. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers; 1st ed edition (October 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517800683
• ISBN-13: 978-0517800683
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review:
   

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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #151,567 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
  
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• Also Available in: Hardcover (Import) |  Paperback  |  School & Library Binding  |  All Editions