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And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon
Every night the rhyme gets read. Every night Dish and Spoon run away. And every night they return--until tonight!
Where can Dish and Spoon be? The rhyme can't go on without them, so Cat, Cow, and Dog set out to search for their missing friends. But where to start? Should they go north? East? Northeast? They'll just have to read Fork's map, ask directions, and try not to get lost in Little Boy Blue's haystack or under Miss Muffet's tuffet or in Big Bad Wolf's kitchen--"FEE, FI, FO . . ." Oh no. Could that be the giant?
Where can Dish and Spoon be? The rhyme can't go on without them, so Cat, Cow, and Dog set out to search for their missing friends. But where to start? Should they go north? East? Northeast? They'll just have to read Fork's map, ask directions, and try not to get lost in Little Boy Blue's haystack or under Miss Muffet's tuffet or in Big Bad Wolf's kitchen--"FEE, FI, FO . . ." Oh no. Could that be the giant?
56 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Janet Stevens
69 books57 followersJanet Stevens began drawing as a child. Pictures decorated her walls, mirrors, furniture and school work -- including math assignments. While this didn't always sit well with her teachers, it was what she loved to do.
Janet’s father was in the Navy therefore she moved a great deal and attended many schools while growing up.
After graduating from high school in Hawaii in 1971 she landed a job creating Hawaiian designs for fabric. The printed fabric was then made into aloha shirts and muumuus. After she graduated from the University of Colorado in 1975 with a degree in Fine Arts Janet began compiling a portfolio of “characters”, bears in tutus, rhinos in sneakers, and walruses in Hawaiian shirts. In 1977, she attended “The Illustrator's Workshop” in New York City, where it was suggested that her characters might find a home in a children's book. Luckily for libraries (and children's book readers in general), publishers agreed and her first book was published in 1979.
Janet is the author and illustrator of many original stories and frequently collaborates with her sister, Susan Stevens Crummel. Her trademark humorous animals also accompany the texts by such authors as Eric Kimmel and Coleen Salley,
Janet has received numerous book awards, including a Caldecott Honor Award, Time Magazine’s Ten Best Children’s Books , the Wanda Gág Best Read-Aloud Book. Child Magazine’s Best Books of the Year.. Janet's books have been named ALA Notables and have repeatedly appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List.
She is particularly proud of her state book awards, voted on by children -- which include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Nebraska and Washington. Janet has received the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Award twice.
Janet’s father was in the Navy therefore she moved a great deal and attended many schools while growing up.
After graduating from high school in Hawaii in 1971 she landed a job creating Hawaiian designs for fabric. The printed fabric was then made into aloha shirts and muumuus. After she graduated from the University of Colorado in 1975 with a degree in Fine Arts Janet began compiling a portfolio of “characters”, bears in tutus, rhinos in sneakers, and walruses in Hawaiian shirts. In 1977, she attended “The Illustrator's Workshop” in New York City, where it was suggested that her characters might find a home in a children's book. Luckily for libraries (and children's book readers in general), publishers agreed and her first book was published in 1979.
Janet is the author and illustrator of many original stories and frequently collaborates with her sister, Susan Stevens Crummel. Her trademark humorous animals also accompany the texts by such authors as Eric Kimmel and Coleen Salley,
Janet has received numerous book awards, including a Caldecott Honor Award, Time Magazine’s Ten Best Children’s Books , the Wanda Gág Best Read-Aloud Book. Child Magazine’s Best Books of the Year.. Janet's books have been named ALA Notables and have repeatedly appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List.
She is particularly proud of her state book awards, voted on by children -- which include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Nebraska and Washington. Janet has received the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Award twice.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
March 5, 2013
I was not really a fan of this. I guess the humor just wasn't quite my cup of tea. I can see where some would find the constant puns and nods to other nursery rhymes quite clever and funny, but for some reason I found them a bit grating and tired and the illustrations didn't appeal to me either. I admit it's a creative take on nursery rhymes, and I didn't *dislike* it, but overall it was just okay for me.
March 15, 2020
Picking up where the traditional nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle leaves off, sisters Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel explore the further story of Dish and Spoon, who disappear after a reading of their rhyme, leaving Cat, Cow and Dog in the lurch. Determined to track down the missing pair, Cat rouses his sleepy bovine and canine friends, and the trio sets out, aided by Fork's map, to search the nursery rhyme world. Visiting Little Boy Blue at his haystack, Little Miss Muffet's cottage, and the Big Bad Wolf's cabin in the forest, they get into and out of scrapes, eventually finding themselves at Jack's beanstalk, where they discover that the renegade pieces of tableware are in over their heads. When disaster strikes, and Dish is broken in many pieces, what will the companions do? Could the nursery rhyme about Humpty-Dumpty hold any clues...?
Chosen as one of the February selections in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme was "Fractured Nursery Rhymes," And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon is an inventive take on a traditional children's poem. I liked the way that the authors brought in other nursery rhyme and fairy-tale characters, and enjoyed the revisionist rhymes presented as part of each chapter of the adventure: "With a curd and a whey and a dickory day, / they set out for Miss Muffet's place - / the cat with the fiddle, the cow who could jump, / and the dog with a scowl on her face." That said, I don't know that the artwork really appealed to me that much - there isn't anything wrong with it, it simply wasn't to my taste. The Stevens' book was enjoyable, but taken altogether, I think I prefer Mini Grey's somewhat sharper retake on this rhyme, The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon .
Chosen as one of the February selections in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme was "Fractured Nursery Rhymes," And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon is an inventive take on a traditional children's poem. I liked the way that the authors brought in other nursery rhyme and fairy-tale characters, and enjoyed the revisionist rhymes presented as part of each chapter of the adventure: "With a curd and a whey and a dickory day, / they set out for Miss Muffet's place - / the cat with the fiddle, the cow who could jump, / and the dog with a scowl on her face." That said, I don't know that the artwork really appealed to me that much - there isn't anything wrong with it, it simply wasn't to my taste. The Stevens' book was enjoyable, but taken altogether, I think I prefer Mini Grey's somewhat sharper retake on this rhyme, The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon .
October 8, 2008
A fun, witty take on the classic Mother Goose rhyme.
Clever enough for adults and fast paced enough for children, this irreverent story follows the adventure of the characters from the rhyme as they search for dish, who ran away with spoon. Filled with witty banter, puns and silly humor this is a delightful tale. Janet Steven's colored pencil/watercolor illustrations are rich and detailed and the text changes format several times for interest. The inclusion of a map in the middle of the story is one of the highlights as are the encounters with other familiar nursery rhyme characters, such as the spider from Little Miss Muffet and Little Boy Blue.
The characters have engaging personalities that stick through the story making them fun to connect with. The silliness factor is also a big hit. I found there was a bit too much dialog for my taste and I think it could be hard to follow for a child younger than six or so. Also, as funny as it is, the sarcasm seemed a bit over the top without much sweetness to counteract it. I know there are those that feel most children's book are overly saccharine, however, I love the more naive take on the world. One good use I could think of for this book would be for the older child that isn't ready to move up to chapter books as the content is still funny and clever enough for an older child. ~Leslie
The creators of Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! here serve up a concoction of visual treats and broad jokes as Cow, Cat and Dog search for their missing colleagues, Dish and Spoon. After previewing a page with the famous rhyme from Mother Goose, the authors showcase an alarmed feline rousing a reluctant Dog and Cow: "EVERYBODY UP! They didn't come back!" The cow, exhausted from his jumping, suggests that they simply eliminate the lost duo from the rhyme altogether: "We could end it, `and the cow took a nap until noon.' " Puns fly freely as the trio begin their search and come to a Hawaiian shirt-sporting fork (in the road), who says that he had spotted the missing characters; the utensil offers to "take a stab at" drawing them a map to aid the quest. Map in hand, the friends encounter an array of nursery-rhyme characters, including Spider, who regrets having frightened away Little Miss Muffet; and Wolf, dressed in a festive apron and bunny slippers, who attempts to lure Dog into a vat of boiling water. Additional stanzas to the original rhyme, which run along the sides of white-framed vignettes, help chronicle the ultimately successful hunt. Droll flourishes fill this Caldecott Honor artist's animated watercolor and colored-pencil pictures, enhanced by photographic and digital elements. Kids will gobble this up. Ages 5-8. ~Publishers Weekly
A cutesy, but accurate review of this tale. I would push the ages out to 9 for a read aloud.
Gr 1-3-A familiar Mother Goose rhyme is transformed into a rollicking picaresque adventure for school-aged children. The tongue-in-cheek humor requires a more mature reader to appreciate the wordplay and wry sarcasm of what amounts to a fractured fairy tale. This childhood standard begins to go haywire when the dish runs away with the spoon and the two fail to return. The cat, the cow, and the dog realize that they must set off in pursuit of their literary companions or their rhyme will be unavailable for reading in the evening to come. Their characters become quickly evident. The fiddling cat is a Type A organizer, the cow tends toward indolence, and the little dog is a cynical curmudgeon. When they have managed their interpersonal dynamics well enough to form a rescue party, they first encounter a literal four-pronged "fork in the road" that has indeed seen the errant place setting and agrees to "take a stab" at drawing a map of the folkloric kingdom. Little Boy Blue, Miss Muffet's spider, the Big Bad Wolf, and Jack and the beanstalk all make appearances during the quest. The disappearance is at last resolved happily, but not without a dash of danger and travail. Stevens's distinctive illustrations lend a great deal of personality and vitality to this droll expanded retelling. A familiarity with Mother Goose will greatly enhance readers' appreciation of this story but, even with that, some of the puns and double entendres may go over youngsters' heads. Still, those sophisticated enough to get it will love it.-Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA ~School Library Journal
I prefer this review to the Publisher's Weekly one as it acknowledges the complexity of some of the humor and that it might be hard for a younger audience to grasp. I also like the summation of the characters as that is exactly how I view them.
Clever enough for adults and fast paced enough for children, this irreverent story follows the adventure of the characters from the rhyme as they search for dish, who ran away with spoon. Filled with witty banter, puns and silly humor this is a delightful tale. Janet Steven's colored pencil/watercolor illustrations are rich and detailed and the text changes format several times for interest. The inclusion of a map in the middle of the story is one of the highlights as are the encounters with other familiar nursery rhyme characters, such as the spider from Little Miss Muffet and Little Boy Blue.
The characters have engaging personalities that stick through the story making them fun to connect with. The silliness factor is also a big hit. I found there was a bit too much dialog for my taste and I think it could be hard to follow for a child younger than six or so. Also, as funny as it is, the sarcasm seemed a bit over the top without much sweetness to counteract it. I know there are those that feel most children's book are overly saccharine, however, I love the more naive take on the world. One good use I could think of for this book would be for the older child that isn't ready to move up to chapter books as the content is still funny and clever enough for an older child. ~Leslie
The creators of Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! here serve up a concoction of visual treats and broad jokes as Cow, Cat and Dog search for their missing colleagues, Dish and Spoon. After previewing a page with the famous rhyme from Mother Goose, the authors showcase an alarmed feline rousing a reluctant Dog and Cow: "EVERYBODY UP! They didn't come back!" The cow, exhausted from his jumping, suggests that they simply eliminate the lost duo from the rhyme altogether: "We could end it, `and the cow took a nap until noon.' " Puns fly freely as the trio begin their search and come to a Hawaiian shirt-sporting fork (in the road), who says that he had spotted the missing characters; the utensil offers to "take a stab at" drawing them a map to aid the quest. Map in hand, the friends encounter an array of nursery-rhyme characters, including Spider, who regrets having frightened away Little Miss Muffet; and Wolf, dressed in a festive apron and bunny slippers, who attempts to lure Dog into a vat of boiling water. Additional stanzas to the original rhyme, which run along the sides of white-framed vignettes, help chronicle the ultimately successful hunt. Droll flourishes fill this Caldecott Honor artist's animated watercolor and colored-pencil pictures, enhanced by photographic and digital elements. Kids will gobble this up. Ages 5-8. ~Publishers Weekly
A cutesy, but accurate review of this tale. I would push the ages out to 9 for a read aloud.
Gr 1-3-A familiar Mother Goose rhyme is transformed into a rollicking picaresque adventure for school-aged children. The tongue-in-cheek humor requires a more mature reader to appreciate the wordplay and wry sarcasm of what amounts to a fractured fairy tale. This childhood standard begins to go haywire when the dish runs away with the spoon and the two fail to return. The cat, the cow, and the dog realize that they must set off in pursuit of their literary companions or their rhyme will be unavailable for reading in the evening to come. Their characters become quickly evident. The fiddling cat is a Type A organizer, the cow tends toward indolence, and the little dog is a cynical curmudgeon. When they have managed their interpersonal dynamics well enough to form a rescue party, they first encounter a literal four-pronged "fork in the road" that has indeed seen the errant place setting and agrees to "take a stab" at drawing a map of the folkloric kingdom. Little Boy Blue, Miss Muffet's spider, the Big Bad Wolf, and Jack and the beanstalk all make appearances during the quest. The disappearance is at last resolved happily, but not without a dash of danger and travail. Stevens's distinctive illustrations lend a great deal of personality and vitality to this droll expanded retelling. A familiarity with Mother Goose will greatly enhance readers' appreciation of this story but, even with that, some of the puns and double entendres may go over youngsters' heads. Still, those sophisticated enough to get it will love it.-Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA ~School Library Journal
I prefer this review to the Publisher's Weekly one as it acknowledges the complexity of some of the humor and that it might be hard for a younger audience to grasp. I also like the summation of the characters as that is exactly how I view them.
February 13, 2013
I haven't read many nursery rhyme books to our girls in recent years as they are starting to grow out of them, but we were fascinated by this story. It involves a mystery and an adventure featuring different characters from various nursery rhymes. I love that a math lesson on distance and map reading is woven through this story.
The illustrations in this book are colorful and the characters are very expressive. I thought the way in which the adventure progressed lended itself to some good academic discussions about distance and direction, either in the middle or at the end of the story. And the wordplay in the narrative is entertaining, too. Overall, it was a fun book to read aloud and we really enjoyed reading it together.
This story was selected as one of the books for the February 2013 - Fractured / Alternative Mother Goose discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
The illustrations in this book are colorful and the characters are very expressive. I thought the way in which the adventure progressed lended itself to some good academic discussions about distance and direction, either in the middle or at the end of the story. And the wordplay in the narrative is entertaining, too. Overall, it was a fun book to read aloud and we really enjoyed reading it together.
This story was selected as one of the books for the February 2013 - Fractured / Alternative Mother Goose discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
October 17, 2016
I vaguely remember this story from when I was little, but definitely did not know what the story was based off of. This story of a nursery rhyme going wrong is adorable. This one also included a lot of hidden jokes that adults would understand. I was laughing to myself several times because there were certain jokes included that I would have never understood when I was little. The illustrations were great as well. I really enjoy stories that are illustrated in 2D and do not make the story silly from the illustrations. There was a lot of play on words, as well as words "dancing" on the pages. I loved reading this. It's enjoyable to read children's books and kind of giggling at the little things that kids may not understand.
I would definitely recommend any child reading this story, especially as they're beginning to read. It can help children learn rhyme and pattern in reading, as well as more nursery rhymes. It's a fun story for all ages and would be a fun story to read in the classroom.
I would definitely recommend any child reading this story, especially as they're beginning to read. It can help children learn rhyme and pattern in reading, as well as more nursery rhymes. It's a fun story for all ages and would be a fun story to read in the classroom.
February 2, 2013
We are probably all familiar with the classic rhyme featuring the fiddling cat, the jumping cow, and little dog, but what would become of them if the dish and the spoon ran away for good and never came back? The Stevens’ twist on this classic nursery rhyme is witty, full of action, and skillfully incorporates other nursery rhymes and characters into the plot. The map adds an additional level of fun to the adventure and readers might have fun predicting where the friends will go next. The illustrations are equally clever, witty, and full of action, holding the reader’s interest and engaging them throughout the entire story. My six-year-old son most enjoyed the grouchy personality and humorous comments from dog, and he thought it was especially funny that a “rude dog” would wear a tutu :).
February 28, 2017
I liked this book! The big bad wolf tried to eat them!
January 8, 2010
After a reading of "the dish ran away with the spoon," they didn't come back. The cat, the dog, and the cow who can jump go looking for them so that their nursery rhyme can continue to be read. They come to a fork in the road (an actual fork wearing sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt) who draws them a map showing several places the dish and spoon might have gone - such as Little Miss Muffet's house, Humpty Dumpty's Wall, and the house that Jack built. I particularly love the dog who says things like "Can't you see I'm dog-tired?" "Doggone it," "No bones about it," and "We're barking up the wrong tree." This has many subtle and some not-so-subtle references to nursery rhymes and some fairy tales for the clever reader to discover. This reminds me of David Wiesner's The Three Pigs. I recommend this for all children who are familiar with and love nursery rhymes and fairy tales!
February 4, 2013
This was my second picture book by Janet Stevens, the first beingTops & Bottoms. The story wove the nursery rhyme characters into a cute story while trying to find where the dish and the spoon ran off to. This was a minor mystery for the characters and I can see a child wondering where they went too. The illustrations are cute and colorful and also add fun parts for children to laugh at i.e. a dog in a tutu, a wolf in bunny slippers. A map and original rhymes tie everything together along with puns and happy endings. I good book for a child's bookshelf.
January 20, 2012
I love nursery rhymes, and they don't get much more fun than this picture book by the sisters' writing team of Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel.
The illustrations are marvelous, and the play on words in the book kept me giggling more than my grandsons. Their attention was kept by the nonstop action and the clever pages that keep you turning the book in all directions in order to keep reading.
Highly recommended.
The illustrations are marvelous, and the play on words in the book kept me giggling more than my grandsons. Their attention was kept by the nonstop action and the clever pages that keep you turning the book in all directions in order to keep reading.
Highly recommended.
March 11, 2017
Title: And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon
Author: Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel
Illustrator: Janet Stevens
Genre: Nursery Rhyme or Mother Goose
Theme(s): Rhyming, Puns, Nursery Rhymes
Opening line/sentence:
Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
Brief Book Summary:
This book riffs off of the classic nursery rhyme, “hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle.” In this version, the Dish and the Spoon run away and are nowhere to be found. The rest of the characters in the nursery rhyme (cow, little dog, and cat) must find the Dish and the Spoon before it’s time to read the rhyme again. The three characters make their way through different nursery rhymes and fairy tales in order to locate their friends.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Cheryl Peterson (Children’s Literature)
Children will love this parody of the familiar nursery rhyme as Dish and Spoon run away and don't come back for the next night's reading. The rhyme can't go on without them, so Cow, Cat and Dog begin a search that leads to a wacky adventure full of puns and slapstick humor. They come to a fork in the road, so their first encounter is with Fork (who happens to be from the same place setting as Spoon). When they ask him to draw a map of which way Dish and Spoon went, he says he will take a "stab" at it. Though the constant puns and silly humor may be a little difficult for the adult reader to take, the five-to eight-year-old crowd will find it hilarious. The glorious, full-page illustrations are lively and humorous, making this a wonderful gift book for a special child. 2001, Harcourt, $17.00. Ages 5 to 8.
(PUBLISHER: Harcourt (San Diego:), PUBLISHED: 2001.)
Professional Recommendation Review #2:
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April1, 2001 (Vol. 69, No. 7))
The creators of "Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! "(1999) spin off a freewheeling yarn from a familiar nursery rhyme, salting their tale with awful puns and peppering it with folktale references. When Dishand Spoon run away as they're supposed to, but fail to come back, Cat, Dog, and Cow set off to track them down. ("Without Dish and Spoon, there's no rhyme. No more diddle, diddle. It's over.") Following a giant, very funny map drawn for them by a Fork in the road, the seekers awaken Little Boy Blue, question a huge, lonely spider sitting on a certain tuffet, and are nearly served up by a Big Bad Wolf (in bunny slippers) before finding the errant table setting at last-at the foot of a certain beanstalk. Stevens fills her sprawling, exuberant pictures with hilarious details, from the lamb suit and red cloak hanging on Wolf's coat rack to the trio of furry customers in dark glasses getting their tails reattached in Jack's Repair Shop ("You blew it, I glue it"). Dishhas suffered a great fall, but Jack nimbly puts her back together, and all leap back to their places just in time to resume (with a slight modification) their traditional roles. Required reading for all Jacks and Jills. 2001, Harcourt, $17.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to 9. Starred Review. © 2001 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
(PUBLISHER: Harcourt (San Diego:), PUBLISHED: 2001.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both reviews talk about the cheesy puns that Stevens uses to create this twist to a classic nursery rhyme. Peterson from Children’s Literature makes a point that the silly humor of the book may not be appealing for adults but fun for children. I disagree with this because I think that this book is enjoyable for both the adult and the child to read together. The Kirkus review mentions the pictures and how detailed they are, which the Children’s Literature review fails to talk about.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
The basic plot of the story is simple; three characters try to find their friends. It can get a little complicated because of the amount of puns and references to past nursery rhymes/fairy tales that Stevens throws into the story. The pictures are filled with small details that go beyond the text, so children will have just as much fun looking through the pictures as they will listening to the story.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
The book can be used to do lessons on rhyming. The students can create their own nursery rhymes. Teachers can create magnets with the rhyming words from the books, and have students match them up on a cookie sheet. The book is full of puns as well. The students can look at the puns that Stevens uses and create their own. This can be coupled with rhyming activities, so as to teach the students ways to broaden their writing.
Author: Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel
Illustrator: Janet Stevens
Genre: Nursery Rhyme or Mother Goose
Theme(s): Rhyming, Puns, Nursery Rhymes
Opening line/sentence:
Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
Brief Book Summary:
This book riffs off of the classic nursery rhyme, “hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle.” In this version, the Dish and the Spoon run away and are nowhere to be found. The rest of the characters in the nursery rhyme (cow, little dog, and cat) must find the Dish and the Spoon before it’s time to read the rhyme again. The three characters make their way through different nursery rhymes and fairy tales in order to locate their friends.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Cheryl Peterson (Children’s Literature)
Children will love this parody of the familiar nursery rhyme as Dish and Spoon run away and don't come back for the next night's reading. The rhyme can't go on without them, so Cow, Cat and Dog begin a search that leads to a wacky adventure full of puns and slapstick humor. They come to a fork in the road, so their first encounter is with Fork (who happens to be from the same place setting as Spoon). When they ask him to draw a map of which way Dish and Spoon went, he says he will take a "stab" at it. Though the constant puns and silly humor may be a little difficult for the adult reader to take, the five-to eight-year-old crowd will find it hilarious. The glorious, full-page illustrations are lively and humorous, making this a wonderful gift book for a special child. 2001, Harcourt, $17.00. Ages 5 to 8.
(PUBLISHER: Harcourt (San Diego:), PUBLISHED: 2001.)
Professional Recommendation Review #2:
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April1, 2001 (Vol. 69, No. 7))
The creators of "Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! "(1999) spin off a freewheeling yarn from a familiar nursery rhyme, salting their tale with awful puns and peppering it with folktale references. When Dishand Spoon run away as they're supposed to, but fail to come back, Cat, Dog, and Cow set off to track them down. ("Without Dish and Spoon, there's no rhyme. No more diddle, diddle. It's over.") Following a giant, very funny map drawn for them by a Fork in the road, the seekers awaken Little Boy Blue, question a huge, lonely spider sitting on a certain tuffet, and are nearly served up by a Big Bad Wolf (in bunny slippers) before finding the errant table setting at last-at the foot of a certain beanstalk. Stevens fills her sprawling, exuberant pictures with hilarious details, from the lamb suit and red cloak hanging on Wolf's coat rack to the trio of furry customers in dark glasses getting their tails reattached in Jack's Repair Shop ("You blew it, I glue it"). Dishhas suffered a great fall, but Jack nimbly puts her back together, and all leap back to their places just in time to resume (with a slight modification) their traditional roles. Required reading for all Jacks and Jills. 2001, Harcourt, $17.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to 9. Starred Review. © 2001 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
(PUBLISHER: Harcourt (San Diego:), PUBLISHED: 2001.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both reviews talk about the cheesy puns that Stevens uses to create this twist to a classic nursery rhyme. Peterson from Children’s Literature makes a point that the silly humor of the book may not be appealing for adults but fun for children. I disagree with this because I think that this book is enjoyable for both the adult and the child to read together. The Kirkus review mentions the pictures and how detailed they are, which the Children’s Literature review fails to talk about.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
The basic plot of the story is simple; three characters try to find their friends. It can get a little complicated because of the amount of puns and references to past nursery rhymes/fairy tales that Stevens throws into the story. The pictures are filled with small details that go beyond the text, so children will have just as much fun looking through the pictures as they will listening to the story.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
The book can be used to do lessons on rhyming. The students can create their own nursery rhymes. Teachers can create magnets with the rhyming words from the books, and have students match them up on a cookie sheet. The book is full of puns as well. The students can look at the puns that Stevens uses and create their own. This can be coupled with rhyming activities, so as to teach the students ways to broaden their writing.
April 29, 2014
Booklist starred (April 1, 2001 (Vol. 97, No. 15))
Ages 5-8. Children who know their nursery rhymes--and nursery tales--will best appreciate this extension of the familiar rhyme that begins, "Hey diddle diddle."In this version, the characters discover that Dish and Spoon have not returned after running away together the night before. Cat, Dog, and Cow set out to find the pair and restore them to their rhyme before it gets read again. On their quest, they come to a fork in the road--a fork dressed in a loud, flowered shirt and sunglasses--who notes that he's from the same table setting as the spoon. This visual pun reflects the many comical plays on words in the text. Though a little long for preschoolers, the story will amuse kindergarten and primary-grade children, who have the best chance of "getting"the jokes. Their journey takes them to such literary landmarks as Little Boy Blue's haystack, the Big Bad Wolf's house, and Jack's beanstalk before they find their cohorts and return to their illustration. Stevens does a fine job of digitally integrating scanned objects such as cloth into the illustrations while subordinating those elements to the picture as a whole. The oversize, double-page spreads are best seen at a little distance, where their overall design is more evident. Brimming with energetic line and movement, the watercolor-and-colored pencil work includes many amusing details to delight observant children.
Horn Book (July/August, 2001)
This postmodern version of a classic nursery favorite pays homage to the past yet acknowledges contemporary sensibilities in a piquant combination of sprightly text and large, impeccably drawn illustrations. Caldecott transformed "Hey Diddle Diddle" into a wonderfully energetic story of star-crossed lovers but focused on the original text, embellishing but not changing. Stevens and Crummel use the traditional rhyme as the start of a merry dream sequence in which dish and spoon disappear one night, thus preventing the repetition of what seems to have been a nightly ritual for all concerned. The efforts of the other characters--Cat, Dog, and Cow--to locate the missing pair is the organizing theme of an inventive, amusing farce that blends elements of Gilbert and Sullivan with Monty Python and Mel Brooks. Encounters with familiar personages--Boy Blue, Miss Muffet's spider, the Big Bad Wolf--in wildly manipulated versions of their familiar roles add to the comedy, as do allusions to contemporary idioms or other nursery rhymes. Jack (of Beanstalk fame) now operates a repair shop with the slogan "You blew it, I glue it," a pivotal point in the resolution of the dilemma. Even the endpapers are part of the whole, serving as prologue and epilogue by depicting the various personae as inanimate objects surrounding a book of Mother Goose rhymes on top of a bed, setting the story in the context of a dream where anything can happen and where events have their own logic. The real audience for this book is not preschoolers but those already familiar with the original and somewhat conversant with the art of irony; it's a New Yorker version of a nursery tale--and it's must reading for anyone who's reached the age of reason.
Horn Book starred (Fall, 2001)
This postmodern version of a classic nursery favorite pays homage to the past yet acknowledges contemporary sensibilities in a piquant combination of sprightly text and large, impeccably drawn illustrations. Dish and Spoon disappear one night, and the efforts of Cat, Dog, and Cow to locate the missing pair is the organizing theme of an inventive, amusing farce.
Library Talk (November/December 2001)
What sport! In the familiar nursery rhyme, the dish and the spoon run away, but they always come back. Except for this time. All of the characters have a different spin on where the dish and spoon could be, so they set off to locate them, bring them back, and be able to "diddle diddle" again. Puns and sight gags galore lead the merry crew on quite an adventure, during which they encounter the likes of Little Boy Blue, Miss Muffet, and so forth. The characters finally locate the lost duo, only to find poor Dish all in pieces. Jack-of beanstalk and nimble fame-puts her back together in time for the rhyme to commence all over again. Stevens' artwork is as energetic and "happening" as in her Caldecott Honor book Tops & Bottoms (Harcourt Brace, 1995) and in Cook-A-Doodle Doo (Harcourt Brace, 1999). This delightful tale will be a favorite at storytime. Highly Recommended. Kay Bowes, Children's Librarian, Concord Pike Library, Wilmington, Delaware
Publishers Weekly (April 9, 2001)
The creators of Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! here serve up a concoction of visual treats and broad jokes as Cow, Cat and Dog search for their missing colleagues, Dish and Spoon. After previewing a page with the famous rhyme from Mother Goose, the authors showcase an alarmed feline rousing a reluctant Dog and Cow: "EVERYBODY UP! They didn't come back!" The cow, exhausted from his jumping, suggests that they simply eliminate the lost duo from the rhyme altogether: "We could end it, `and the cow took a nap until noon.' " Puns fly freely as the trio begin their search and come to a Hawaiian shirt-sporting fork (in the road), who says that he had spotted the missing characters; the utensil offers to "take a stab at" drawing them a map to aid the quest. Map in hand, the friends encounter an array of nursery-rhyme characters, including Spider, who regrets having frightened away Little Miss Muffet; and Wolf, dressed in a festive apron and bunny slippers, who attempts to lure Dog into a vat of boiling water. Additional stanzas to the original rhyme, which run along the sides of white-framed vignettes, help chronicle the ultimately successful hunt. Droll flourishes fill this Caldecott Honor artist's animated watercolor and colored-pencil pictures, enhanced by photographic and digital elements. Kids will gobble this up. Ages 5-8. (May) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal (May 1, 2001)
Gr 1-3-A familiar Mother Goose rhyme is transformed into a rollicking picaresque adventure for school-aged children. The tongue-in-cheek humor requires a more mature reader to appreciate the wordplay and wry sarcasm of what amounts to a fractured fairy tale. This childhood standard begins to go haywire when the dish runs away with the spoon and the two fail to return. The cat, the cow, and the dog realize that they must set off in pursuit of their literary companions or their rhyme will be unavailable for reading in the evening to come. Their characters become quickly evident. The fiddling cat is a Type A organizer, the cow tends toward indolence, and the little dog is a cynical curmudgeon. When they have managed their interpersonal dynamics well enough to form a rescue party, they first encounter a literal four-pronged "fork in the road" that has indeed seen the errant place setting and agrees to "take a stab" at drawing a map of the folkloric kingdom. Little Boy Blue, Miss Muffet's spider, the Big Bad Wolf, and Jack and the beanstalk all make appearances during the quest. The disappearance is at last resolved happily, but not without a dash of danger and travail. Stevens's distinctive illustrations lend a great deal of personality and vitality to this droll expanded retelling. A familiarity with Mother Goose will greatly enhance readers' appreciation of this story but, even with that, some of the puns and double entendres may go over youngsters' heads. Still, those sophisticated enough to get it will love it.-Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Ages 5-8. Children who know their nursery rhymes--and nursery tales--will best appreciate this extension of the familiar rhyme that begins, "Hey diddle diddle."In this version, the characters discover that Dish and Spoon have not returned after running away together the night before. Cat, Dog, and Cow set out to find the pair and restore them to their rhyme before it gets read again. On their quest, they come to a fork in the road--a fork dressed in a loud, flowered shirt and sunglasses--who notes that he's from the same table setting as the spoon. This visual pun reflects the many comical plays on words in the text. Though a little long for preschoolers, the story will amuse kindergarten and primary-grade children, who have the best chance of "getting"the jokes. Their journey takes them to such literary landmarks as Little Boy Blue's haystack, the Big Bad Wolf's house, and Jack's beanstalk before they find their cohorts and return to their illustration. Stevens does a fine job of digitally integrating scanned objects such as cloth into the illustrations while subordinating those elements to the picture as a whole. The oversize, double-page spreads are best seen at a little distance, where their overall design is more evident. Brimming with energetic line and movement, the watercolor-and-colored pencil work includes many amusing details to delight observant children.
Horn Book (July/August, 2001)
This postmodern version of a classic nursery favorite pays homage to the past yet acknowledges contemporary sensibilities in a piquant combination of sprightly text and large, impeccably drawn illustrations. Caldecott transformed "Hey Diddle Diddle" into a wonderfully energetic story of star-crossed lovers but focused on the original text, embellishing but not changing. Stevens and Crummel use the traditional rhyme as the start of a merry dream sequence in which dish and spoon disappear one night, thus preventing the repetition of what seems to have been a nightly ritual for all concerned. The efforts of the other characters--Cat, Dog, and Cow--to locate the missing pair is the organizing theme of an inventive, amusing farce that blends elements of Gilbert and Sullivan with Monty Python and Mel Brooks. Encounters with familiar personages--Boy Blue, Miss Muffet's spider, the Big Bad Wolf--in wildly manipulated versions of their familiar roles add to the comedy, as do allusions to contemporary idioms or other nursery rhymes. Jack (of Beanstalk fame) now operates a repair shop with the slogan "You blew it, I glue it," a pivotal point in the resolution of the dilemma. Even the endpapers are part of the whole, serving as prologue and epilogue by depicting the various personae as inanimate objects surrounding a book of Mother Goose rhymes on top of a bed, setting the story in the context of a dream where anything can happen and where events have their own logic. The real audience for this book is not preschoolers but those already familiar with the original and somewhat conversant with the art of irony; it's a New Yorker version of a nursery tale--and it's must reading for anyone who's reached the age of reason.
Horn Book starred (Fall, 2001)
This postmodern version of a classic nursery favorite pays homage to the past yet acknowledges contemporary sensibilities in a piquant combination of sprightly text and large, impeccably drawn illustrations. Dish and Spoon disappear one night, and the efforts of Cat, Dog, and Cow to locate the missing pair is the organizing theme of an inventive, amusing farce.
Library Talk (November/December 2001)
What sport! In the familiar nursery rhyme, the dish and the spoon run away, but they always come back. Except for this time. All of the characters have a different spin on where the dish and spoon could be, so they set off to locate them, bring them back, and be able to "diddle diddle" again. Puns and sight gags galore lead the merry crew on quite an adventure, during which they encounter the likes of Little Boy Blue, Miss Muffet, and so forth. The characters finally locate the lost duo, only to find poor Dish all in pieces. Jack-of beanstalk and nimble fame-puts her back together in time for the rhyme to commence all over again. Stevens' artwork is as energetic and "happening" as in her Caldecott Honor book Tops & Bottoms (Harcourt Brace, 1995) and in Cook-A-Doodle Doo (Harcourt Brace, 1999). This delightful tale will be a favorite at storytime. Highly Recommended. Kay Bowes, Children's Librarian, Concord Pike Library, Wilmington, Delaware
Publishers Weekly (April 9, 2001)
The creators of Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! here serve up a concoction of visual treats and broad jokes as Cow, Cat and Dog search for their missing colleagues, Dish and Spoon. After previewing a page with the famous rhyme from Mother Goose, the authors showcase an alarmed feline rousing a reluctant Dog and Cow: "EVERYBODY UP! They didn't come back!" The cow, exhausted from his jumping, suggests that they simply eliminate the lost duo from the rhyme altogether: "We could end it, `and the cow took a nap until noon.' " Puns fly freely as the trio begin their search and come to a Hawaiian shirt-sporting fork (in the road), who says that he had spotted the missing characters; the utensil offers to "take a stab at" drawing them a map to aid the quest. Map in hand, the friends encounter an array of nursery-rhyme characters, including Spider, who regrets having frightened away Little Miss Muffet; and Wolf, dressed in a festive apron and bunny slippers, who attempts to lure Dog into a vat of boiling water. Additional stanzas to the original rhyme, which run along the sides of white-framed vignettes, help chronicle the ultimately successful hunt. Droll flourishes fill this Caldecott Honor artist's animated watercolor and colored-pencil pictures, enhanced by photographic and digital elements. Kids will gobble this up. Ages 5-8. (May) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal (May 1, 2001)
Gr 1-3-A familiar Mother Goose rhyme is transformed into a rollicking picaresque adventure for school-aged children. The tongue-in-cheek humor requires a more mature reader to appreciate the wordplay and wry sarcasm of what amounts to a fractured fairy tale. This childhood standard begins to go haywire when the dish runs away with the spoon and the two fail to return. The cat, the cow, and the dog realize that they must set off in pursuit of their literary companions or their rhyme will be unavailable for reading in the evening to come. Their characters become quickly evident. The fiddling cat is a Type A organizer, the cow tends toward indolence, and the little dog is a cynical curmudgeon. When they have managed their interpersonal dynamics well enough to form a rescue party, they first encounter a literal four-pronged "fork in the road" that has indeed seen the errant place setting and agrees to "take a stab" at drawing a map of the folkloric kingdom. Little Boy Blue, Miss Muffet's spider, the Big Bad Wolf, and Jack and the beanstalk all make appearances during the quest. The disappearance is at last resolved happily, but not without a dash of danger and travail. Stevens's distinctive illustrations lend a great deal of personality and vitality to this droll expanded retelling. A familiarity with Mother Goose will greatly enhance readers' appreciation of this story but, even with that, some of the puns and double entendres may go over youngsters' heads. Still, those sophisticated enough to get it will love it.-Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2022
And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon Janet Stevens
Nursery rhymes are often the first poems a child hears. These little ditties connect generations when we pass them on. If we do, then they form cultural touchpoints, a shared language.
But sometimes we don’t share them. Maybe they sound wrong to our modern ears. Maybe we know what the rhyme may have meant to the original hearers and cringe. Maybe our teachers didn’t cover these touchpoints, and our parents didn’t read them.
My friends, if this is true for you, all is not well in your reading world. You need nursery rhymes. Why? For the endless opportunity to get jokes, which are often based on shared experiences.
If the little ones in your life like jokes, and if they have a solid grounding in nursery rhymes, children’s poems, and fairy tales, then they will get a lot of laughs out of Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens-Crummel’s And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon.
The story begins with “Hey, diddle diddle,” then asks, What if “the dish ran away with the spoon” and didn’t come back? “EVERYBODY UP!” says the Cat with the fiddle. It’s time for a joke-filled adventure.
The journey will take Cat, Dog, and Cow to visit other nursery rhyme folks along with fairy tale friends. They’ll visit Little Boy Blue, Little Miss Muffet’s spider, the Wolf who has taken up residence in the Three Pigs’ House, Jack’s beanstalk, and a Jack of all trades conveniently located near Humpty Dumpty’s Wall. They’ll hear about Bo Peep, Three Men in a Tub, the Three Bears who don’t like people dropping by unannounced, and they will encounter an actual Fork in the road who mentions the four and twenty blackbirds who flew by. On my third read-through, I found nods to Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass and a reference to Eugene Field’s Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Many of the illustrations are jokey. The little Dog who “laughed to see such sport” wears a tutu and a birthday hat. The Three Blind Mice make their way with tiny walking sticks. In the Wolf’s house hangs a sheep suit.
Every time the troop moves from one location to another, the illustration shows a map with a red line, indicating the route, and surrounding each map is a mini-rhyme.
Here’s the rhyme that appears around the map as they venture to the beanstalk:
“With a fee and a fum and a twiddle dee dum,
the cow jumped high in the air.
Over the forest and meadows they flew,
and lickety-split—they were there!”
The maps were one of my favorite parts of this book. The authors’ note says the author and illustrator (who are sisters) “have long appreciated the value of a good map. They spent much of their childhood crisscrossing the country with their family as their father, a naval officer, changed duty stations. Reading maps during those long car trips distracted them from asked the question dreaded by parents everywhere: ‘Are we there yet?’”
If you have a map, you can figure out the answer. If you know the rhyme and the old, old story, you can smile with recognition when it’s turned upside-down. Dog says:
“Why do we need dish and spoon anyway?
“We just do,” said Cat. “It’s the why our rhyme goes. I fiddle, she jumps, you laugh, they run, and then they come back so we can do it again the next time. Without Dish and Spoon, there’s no rhyme, no more ‘diddle diddle.’ It’s over.”
“Why don’t we just change their part?” Dog growled.
And that’s exactly what happens in the end, complete with a big red X through the original text. Because this story ends with one last joke.
Nursery rhymes are often the first poems a child hears. These little ditties connect generations when we pass them on. If we do, then they form cultural touchpoints, a shared language.
But sometimes we don’t share them. Maybe they sound wrong to our modern ears. Maybe we know what the rhyme may have meant to the original hearers and cringe. Maybe our teachers didn’t cover these touchpoints, and our parents didn’t read them.
My friends, if this is true for you, all is not well in your reading world. You need nursery rhymes. Why? For the endless opportunity to get jokes, which are often based on shared experiences.
If the little ones in your life like jokes, and if they have a solid grounding in nursery rhymes, children’s poems, and fairy tales, then they will get a lot of laughs out of Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens-Crummel’s And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon.
The story begins with “Hey, diddle diddle,” then asks, What if “the dish ran away with the spoon” and didn’t come back? “EVERYBODY UP!” says the Cat with the fiddle. It’s time for a joke-filled adventure.
The journey will take Cat, Dog, and Cow to visit other nursery rhyme folks along with fairy tale friends. They’ll visit Little Boy Blue, Little Miss Muffet’s spider, the Wolf who has taken up residence in the Three Pigs’ House, Jack’s beanstalk, and a Jack of all trades conveniently located near Humpty Dumpty’s Wall. They’ll hear about Bo Peep, Three Men in a Tub, the Three Bears who don’t like people dropping by unannounced, and they will encounter an actual Fork in the road who mentions the four and twenty blackbirds who flew by. On my third read-through, I found nods to Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass and a reference to Eugene Field’s Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Many of the illustrations are jokey. The little Dog who “laughed to see such sport” wears a tutu and a birthday hat. The Three Blind Mice make their way with tiny walking sticks. In the Wolf’s house hangs a sheep suit.
Every time the troop moves from one location to another, the illustration shows a map with a red line, indicating the route, and surrounding each map is a mini-rhyme.
Here’s the rhyme that appears around the map as they venture to the beanstalk:
“With a fee and a fum and a twiddle dee dum,
the cow jumped high in the air.
Over the forest and meadows they flew,
and lickety-split—they were there!”
The maps were one of my favorite parts of this book. The authors’ note says the author and illustrator (who are sisters) “have long appreciated the value of a good map. They spent much of their childhood crisscrossing the country with their family as their father, a naval officer, changed duty stations. Reading maps during those long car trips distracted them from asked the question dreaded by parents everywhere: ‘Are we there yet?’”
If you have a map, you can figure out the answer. If you know the rhyme and the old, old story, you can smile with recognition when it’s turned upside-down. Dog says:
“Why do we need dish and spoon anyway?
“We just do,” said Cat. “It’s the why our rhyme goes. I fiddle, she jumps, you laugh, they run, and then they come back so we can do it again the next time. Without Dish and Spoon, there’s no rhyme, no more ‘diddle diddle.’ It’s over.”
“Why don’t we just change their part?” Dog growled.
And that’s exactly what happens in the end, complete with a big red X through the original text. Because this story ends with one last joke.
December 8, 2018
Award: 2002 notable Children’s Books
Grade Levels = Pre-K, 1-2
Summary:
Dish and Spoon decide to run away so the other animals must find a way to bring them back or they wouldn’t be able to finish the riddle. Fork draws a map for them and they go off to visit other creatures in search for the Dish and the Spoon. The animals found the Dish and the Spoon by the beanstalk, but Dish had shattered to pieces. Jack of all Trades was able to put the Dish back together and the animals returned home to complete the riddle.
Review:
I really liked how the nursery book didn’t just stop at the riddle but developed a whole story off the riddle. They even made subtle references to other stories such as the Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Jack and the Beanstalk. I also liked how there were silly puns and play on words throughout the story such as “get a mooove on it”, referring to the cow.
Possible Lesson Plans:
Read riddle in class until students know the words by heart and then have a answer and respond where the last word is left off for students to say. This would be a great way to start off each class during morning meeting. Students can also go back through the book and identify the subtle references to the other stories. Students can then try to create their own riddle off those stories or look at a riddle and write a background story on it. Another lesson could be putting on a play. This story is pretty long so students can act out their favorite scenes.
Grade Levels = Pre-K, 1-2
Summary:
Dish and Spoon decide to run away so the other animals must find a way to bring them back or they wouldn’t be able to finish the riddle. Fork draws a map for them and they go off to visit other creatures in search for the Dish and the Spoon. The animals found the Dish and the Spoon by the beanstalk, but Dish had shattered to pieces. Jack of all Trades was able to put the Dish back together and the animals returned home to complete the riddle.
Review:
I really liked how the nursery book didn’t just stop at the riddle but developed a whole story off the riddle. They even made subtle references to other stories such as the Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Jack and the Beanstalk. I also liked how there were silly puns and play on words throughout the story such as “get a mooove on it”, referring to the cow.
Possible Lesson Plans:
Read riddle in class until students know the words by heart and then have a answer and respond where the last word is left off for students to say. This would be a great way to start off each class during morning meeting. Students can also go back through the book and identify the subtle references to the other stories. Students can then try to create their own riddle off those stories or look at a riddle and write a background story on it. Another lesson could be putting on a play. This story is pretty long so students can act out their favorite scenes.
November 30, 2018
1. This book has not won any awards
2. this book is appropriate for K-1st grade
3. This book takes a twist of the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle" and creates a story where the fork actually runs away with the spoon and the cow, dog and cat need to find them to complete their riddle. On their journey, they come across characters from other well known nursery rhymes, asking them where the spoon and dish went. Finally they are able to find dish and spoon and their riddle can be completed.
4. This book is funny and gives a very interesting spin to the nursery rhymes that we have all grown up knowing.
5. This book can be used in a classroom to help children make predictions of what they think will happen next/ who they think the cow, dog and cat will encounter next. It can also be used in order to help children with character recognition and identifying important characters in a book.
2. this book is appropriate for K-1st grade
3. This book takes a twist of the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle" and creates a story where the fork actually runs away with the spoon and the cow, dog and cat need to find them to complete their riddle. On their journey, they come across characters from other well known nursery rhymes, asking them where the spoon and dish went. Finally they are able to find dish and spoon and their riddle can be completed.
4. This book is funny and gives a very interesting spin to the nursery rhymes that we have all grown up knowing.
5. This book can be used in a classroom to help children make predictions of what they think will happen next/ who they think the cow, dog and cat will encounter next. It can also be used in order to help children with character recognition and identifying important characters in a book.
April 30, 2018
Awards received?
n/a
Appropriate Grade level?
K-2
Original Summary:
The story is read every night, but suddenly things start to fall apart. The dish and the spoon are nowhere to be found, the cow is too tired to jump over the moon? These witty, sarcastic animals must reunite and tell the story the way it was meant to be told.
Original Review:
A refreshing take on the traditional version Hey diddle diddle. The animals attitude and persona’s most certainly make this read more enjoyable. The expansion on the traditional story makes it an enjoyable read for a larger audience.
1-2 possible in-class uses:
Students could use a graphic organizer with this book. They could be given a few options to select from. One being a main event graphic organizer, another being a venn diagram comparing the original/traditional version, and lastly a sequence of events.
n/a
Appropriate Grade level?
K-2
Original Summary:
The story is read every night, but suddenly things start to fall apart. The dish and the spoon are nowhere to be found, the cow is too tired to jump over the moon? These witty, sarcastic animals must reunite and tell the story the way it was meant to be told.
Original Review:
A refreshing take on the traditional version Hey diddle diddle. The animals attitude and persona’s most certainly make this read more enjoyable. The expansion on the traditional story makes it an enjoyable read for a larger audience.
1-2 possible in-class uses:
Students could use a graphic organizer with this book. They could be given a few options to select from. One being a main event graphic organizer, another being a venn diagram comparing the original/traditional version, and lastly a sequence of events.
December 2, 2020
Cow, Dog, and Cat are trying to find Dish and spoon who ran away. At first Cow and Dog try to come up with alternate endings of their nursery rhyme, but Cat won’t hear of it. The three of them embark on a journey through all the nursery rhymes to find Dish and Spoon. Will they ever find Dish and Spoon or will their nursery rhyme be ruined forever? The illustrations were very beautiful. There seemed to be quite a bit of detail put into each page. I noticed certain nursery rhyme characters lurking in the background of a few pages. The common theme would be the importance of nursery rhymes. This story was an interesting take on the old nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle”. The story took a turn that I wasn’t expecting when the Dish broke while falling from the beanstalk. I thought that this was a great way to get children more excited about rhyming and how important rhyming is.
April 23, 2018
Awards the book has received (if any): None
Appropriate grade level(s): Preschool through First grade
Original summary: This story expands on the classic rhyme, telling the story of the dish and the spoon when they don't return back. What are the rest of the animals to do when their story is read every night and two of their characters have gone missing?
Original review: This clever twist off of the rhyme intrigues the reader and pulls them into their adventure. I remember reading this nursery rhyme as a child and this brings me back to that time.
1-2 possible in-class uses: This could be used to focus on the importance of characters in stories, rhymes or poems.
Appropriate grade level(s): Preschool through First grade
Original summary: This story expands on the classic rhyme, telling the story of the dish and the spoon when they don't return back. What are the rest of the animals to do when their story is read every night and two of their characters have gone missing?
Original review: This clever twist off of the rhyme intrigues the reader and pulls them into their adventure. I remember reading this nursery rhyme as a child and this brings me back to that time.
1-2 possible in-class uses: This could be used to focus on the importance of characters in stories, rhymes or poems.
October 14, 2018
1. Awards received: None
2. Appropriate grade level(s): Grades Pre K - 2
3. Original summary: Beloved nursery rhyme about the characters Dish, Spoon, Dog, Cat, and Cow. The Dish and Spoon have run away and the Dog, Cat and Cow are very worried they won't return. With the help of Fork maybe their animal friends can find them.
4. Original review: The Dish and Spoon have run away. Cat, Dog and Cow are concerned that they won't return and elicit the help of Fork who draws a map.
5. 1-2 possible in-class uses: Children will learn to about creativity and imagination. Children will learn to relate the story to life experiences.
2. Appropriate grade level(s): Grades Pre K - 2
3. Original summary: Beloved nursery rhyme about the characters Dish, Spoon, Dog, Cat, and Cow. The Dish and Spoon have run away and the Dog, Cat and Cow are very worried they won't return. With the help of Fork maybe their animal friends can find them.
4. Original review: The Dish and Spoon have run away. Cat, Dog and Cow are concerned that they won't return and elicit the help of Fork who draws a map.
5. 1-2 possible in-class uses: Children will learn to about creativity and imagination. Children will learn to relate the story to life experiences.
Read
September 9, 2019Picture Book
Every night after the rhyme gets read, the Dish and Spoon run away. They usually come back, but not this time. Cat, cow, and dog went out to try to find their friends, since the rhyme could not go on without them. They had to go through almost every rhyming fairy tail to find out they were chased up and down the beanstalk. After the dish was shattered, they need a Jack-of-all trades to fix it. Once it was fixed and they returned home. They changed the rhyme to the Dish and Spoon staying home.
Every night after the rhyme gets read, the Dish and Spoon run away. They usually come back, but not this time. Cat, cow, and dog went out to try to find their friends, since the rhyme could not go on without them. They had to go through almost every rhyming fairy tail to find out they were chased up and down the beanstalk. After the dish was shattered, they need a Jack-of-all trades to fix it. Once it was fixed and they returned home. They changed the rhyme to the Dish and Spoon staying home.
May 13, 2019
"And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon" by Janet Stevens is a fun nursery rhyme book for children that takes them through a series of silly events with different animals and animated objects, like the dish and the spoon. The book is filled with nursery rhymes that are catchy and fun for children to listen to. The colorful illustrations cover each page almost entirely, making it good for young children who do not pay attention to the words as much as the pictures.
September 3, 2021
In beautiful illustrations and lots of words, some that rhyme, the story is told of the nursery rhyme that starts with Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle ... and ends with And the dish ran away with the spoon. Only this time the dish and the spoon didn't come back! When Cat, Dog and Cow go searching for them so that they can continue to do the rhyme every night, they meet a fork in the road who gives them directions. Fun story.
September 24, 2018
Things are amiss in the land of Nursery Rhymes, when dish and spoon failed to return as scheduled. The cat, cow, and dog set out to find their missing friends. Their search takes them all over the area, and the clues lead them to the dark forest. Will they locate dish, and spoon in time to get their nursery rhyme read? This fractured tale is one for the books, and a mystery to boot.
October 23, 2020
10/15
*****
10/22
I love fractured fairy tales, this was a funny twist of a nursery rhyme! It turns a nursery rhyme into a mystery. What would happen if the dish and spoon didn't return so that the rhyme could be read? The rhyme cant go on without the dish and spoon, so the characters in the rhyme go to look for them.
*****
10/22
I love fractured fairy tales, this was a funny twist of a nursery rhyme! It turns a nursery rhyme into a mystery. What would happen if the dish and spoon didn't return so that the rhyme could be read? The rhyme cant go on without the dish and spoon, so the characters in the rhyme go to look for them.
December 6, 2018
A great middle grade and up picture book, full of allusions to various nursery rhymes and corny puns. The plot is a little overburdened with pit stops on the quest to rescue Dish and Spoon. Plenty of fun voices to read aloud. Useful to teach characterization, especially flat and round characters.
November 10, 2019
When I looked at the illustrations, I thought I would like this book, and I did like it, so I decided to get it from my school library, but not to keep. But I'm sad because I only get 1 book at a time, and the same thing in 1st grade, I only get one book in 1st grade, but in 2nd grade, I get 2 !!!
October 15, 2020
Date read: 10/15/2020
Date of review: 10/15/2020
Genre: Fantasy, Humor
Grade Range: 1-2
This book has lots of funny twists to well-known nursery rhymes. Hopefully kids will already be familiar with the rhymes before they read the book; even if not, the wacky characters are fun to read.
Date of review: 10/15/2020
Genre: Fantasy, Humor
Grade Range: 1-2
This book has lots of funny twists to well-known nursery rhymes. Hopefully kids will already be familiar with the rhymes before they read the book; even if not, the wacky characters are fun to read.
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October 15, 2020the date you completed reading the book:
a star rating (1 to 5):
the date: 10-15-20
the genre: fiction
appropriate grade range: k-3
a written book review:
I like the connection of the various nursery rhymes. It has great humor which helps make the book entertaining.
a star rating (1 to 5):
the date: 10-15-20
the genre: fiction
appropriate grade range: k-3
a written book review:
I like the connection of the various nursery rhymes. It has great humor which helps make the book entertaining.
September 27, 2022
Dish and Spooon decided to really run away and their friends go looking for them. Great use of nursery rhymes, fairy tales and puns. Older readers will understand those, younger readers will just like the story based on a favorite nursery rhyme. Makes a great read-a-loud.
May 19, 2017
My second graders loved this twist on the nursery rhyme.
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