Product Description

``Wise old man, won`t you help me, please? My house is a squash and squeeze.`` What can you do if your house is too small? The wise old man knows: bring in a flappy, scratchy, noisy crowd of farmyard animals. When you push them all out again, you`ll be amazed at how big your house feels!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #118935 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-- In this traditional tale, adapted and retold in verse, a little old woman complains to a wise old man that, "My house is a squash and a squeeze," even though she is the sole resident. The thoughtful man tells her to take in, in turn, her hen, goat, pig, and finally her cow. Of course the house seems gigantic when the temporary boarders are put out. Clever caricatures of characters accentuate the humorous situation. Just a curl of a lip or the ideal placement of the dot in the white eyeball make them whimsical, pensive, dismayed, serene, or horrified. Pen-and-ink outlined with bright watercolor washes are set against a white background. It seems that light is shining through the pages. Best of all is the language; the refrain reverberates even after the story is over. Margot Zemach's It Could Always Be Worse (Farrar, 1990) and Eleanor Chroman's It Could Be Worse (Childrens, 1972; o.p.) are familiar versions of the story. Donaldson's has fewer details, but its rollicking verse makes it a charming story hour addition.
- Nancy Seiner, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
You may not think you need yet another version of the tale about someone realizing that her house is actually big enough to accommodate a whole slew of animals, after crowding them in--one by one--on the advice of a wise man (he looks as much like a vicar as a rabbi here). But this variant has two things to recommend it: Donaldson's merrily lilting text (``The little old lady cried, `Stop, I implore!/It was cramp-y for three and it's teeny for four./Even the pig in the cupboard agrees/my house is a squash and a squeeze' ''); and Scheffler's vigorously limned cartoon-style illustrations, explicating and elaborating the ludicrous events line by line. Where funds permit, a worthy addition. (Picture book. 3-8) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
You may not think you need yet another version of the tale about someone realizing that her house is actually big enough to accommodate a whole slew of animals, after crowding them in - one by one - on the advice of a wise man (he looks as much like a vicar as a rabbi here). But this variant has two things to recommend it: Donaldson's merrily lilting text ("The little old lady cried, 'Stop, I implore!/It was cramp-y for three and it's teeny for four./Even the pig in the cupboard agrees/my house is a squash and a squeeze' "); and Scheffler's vigorously limned cartoon-style illustrations, explicating and elaborating the ludicrous events line by line. Where funds permit, a worthy addition. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

Cute little book if you have some spare cash
I bought this book after I saw it read and acted out on Playschool (TV show in Australia). It's a great little rythmic book to read aloud and has endearing illustrations. A little old lady decides her house is much too small for her - a wise old man helps her to solve her problem by suggesting she move all her animals in to live with her (one by one). Of course, by the end of the story, the house is very squashy so she moves all the animals out and realises that her house is not that small after all! Good little tale for teaching children to appreciate what they have. Nothing too deep and meaningful, just a sweet little story. Not a must have but worth buying for your library if you have spare cash and already own some of the really special books out there.

Excellent book for a toddler
I bought this a couple of weeks ago for my 19-month old daughter and she loved it right away. She chimes in now with the key phrases that are repeated throughout the book like "a curious plan" and "my house is a squash and a squeeze"! (She obviously understands the latter phrase more than the former! I give her 'squash' and 'squeeze' hugs when we get to those phrases.) The rhymes are great and there's certainly a song-like rhythm. You don't need great story-telling skills for this one. It sounds great just being read aloud. Not one that a child or adult reading to the child will tire of easily I think.

Fun to read to kids, but also great for small stage shows
This is a great book - hilarious morality tale which children can understand, wonderful rhymes and beautifully illustrated too.

In this an old woman is complaining about how crowded her house is, it is in fact "A squash and a squeeze". She goes to an old man, who gives her some 'good advice' about taking in her farm animals until at last she throws them all out - and now she feels like she has more space than she could ever possibly need. Well, bear in mind it is a lot funnier when Julia Donaldson writes it!

This is a great book for pre-schoolers to act out - we read it out and the children get to be the various animals and be squashing and squeezing. You under 6's will really enjoy this one! But also get Room on the Broom and the Gruffalo by the same authors - glorious children's books all round.