Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ay, caramba! A hard book to beat-o!, January 5, 2004
"Skippyjon Jones" is so good on so many levels. It may just be the perfect children's book. No, the Platonic IDEAL of what a children's book should be...I'm that enamored of it! First, the plot is hilarious. Skippyjon is a Siamese cat with a fantastic imagination. His mother scolds him for being so un-catlike and sends him to his room "to think about what it means to be a Siamese cat." But of course Skippyjon doesn't think for long. His imagination takes over and poof! He's a famous sword-fighting chihuahua off on an adventure in old Mexico. He defeats Alfredo Buzzito, "el blimpo bumblebeeto bandito" and wins back all the beans Buzzito has stolen from Los Chimichangos, a band of desert-dwelling chihuahuas. And of course the noise of this adventure eventually brings him back to reality, with his mother and sisters scolding him again, but in such a fond and loving way that we're left feeling only their affection for the little kitty-boy scamp. Next, there are the pictures. Young readers and experienced readers both will enjoy the very funny illustrations, which include clues about just how Skippyjon GETS those wild ideas. Finally, there is the diction. The language in this book is inspired. It rollicks. It rolls. It plays with the audience, teases and tickles and delights little ears. And "holy guacamole," it sure is fun to read aloud! Thank you, Judith Schachner!
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37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Racist? C'mon....get real., October 16, 2008
My 5 year old really enjoys this books with the silly rhymes and play on words. This story is about a child-cat and his imagination. The play on spanish words aren't meant to be racist, it shows how a young kitten (similar in his personality to a young child) may interpret how they hear things. It never shows the spanish chihuahuas as being any kind of bad stereotypes. Just as some Pups in need of a little rescuing from a Zorro style hero.
To me, the books relate to how young ones work into their imaginary play new languages and ideas on culture. Chihuahuas are thought to be spanish, so SkippyJon, a child-cat, will 'interpret' the language and customs in his own way, with what little knowledge he has, while pretending to be a chihuahua.
Also, to reference a particular point someone made on why the book is so stereotypical, the true reason behind adding the -O after words that aren't spanish is NOT done to suggest that it automatically makes a word spanish. Its done to fit into the song rhythm its meant to go with, and to rhyme with other words.
In the end, if you are concerned about it, teach your child the true customs and explain that the book is about word play between english and spanish, and is make believe and silly. Or, of course, don't read the book at all. But don't be so self-righteous as to denounce the book as racist, because racist is an ugly term that these playful books do not deserve.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the most fun we've had in a long time!, August 23, 2006
schachner's book is superb! while it is, technically, a children's book, it is one of the very favorites of both my wife and me (and our daughter)! the details of the plot are discussed by other reviewers accurately and completely. as my introduction to schachner's work, i've searched out her other work. while it is hilarious, clever, and pictorially very appealling, the thing that is most important to me is that it makes the time that i get to spend with our children reading more fun than we'd ever imagined it could be (and we're all avid readers). there could be some out there who could be offended on the grounds that it could be seen as politically incorrect. i don't. i find it a terrific book, i'd give it 6 stars if amazon allowed it, and i think that it is well worth the full purchase price. i hope that schachner continues her creative works.
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