Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months by Maurice Sendak
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Book Reviews of Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months
Book Review: Read it once. Read it twice. Reading Chicken Soup With Rice
Summary: 4 Stars
These days, when a person says, "chicken soup" they're probably going to follow up those words with, "for the soul" or maybe "for the teenaged soul". Didn't used to be that way. Why I can remember a time when if a person said, "chicken soup" those words were followed by an enthusiastic "with rice!". Such was the power of Maurice Sendak's catchy 1962 children's book. I am pleased to report that if you care to read this book again today, you will find it hasn't dimished a jot in terms of frolicksome fun. In this book we are led through a whirlwind chicken soup year with our host, a boy who bears no little resemblance to Sendak's other great rhyming tale "Pierre" (in looks if not demeanor). It's a catchy flouncy bouncy combo of soup and the people who love it so.
This is ostensibly a book meant to teach your children the different months of the year. Each month gets its own rhythmic poem and accompanying illustration. These are fairly simple pen and ink drawings with the occasional splash of blue (in varying shades), yellow, gray, and green. You may wonder how an author could ever hope to come up with twelve highly original soup-related poems. I mean, honestly, how much is there to say about even the fanciest soup, let alone chicken soup with rice? Quite a lot, as it happens. In the cold winter months soup is supped while sliding on ice, while celebrating the birthday of a snowman, and in a gusty gale as a whale. In the spring there's robin's nest soup, soup to cure drooping roses, and soup stolen by jealous March winds. Our hero postulates the potential joys that could come of being a cooking pot, stewing soup or (oddly enough) as "a baubled bangled Christmas tree".
Not to degrade the reading skills of parents everywhere, but I cannot recommend enough getting an audio version of this tale to accompany your child's reading. Though I am now a wise and cultured 26 year-old (the years have been kind to me in this, my old age) I can still remember the chicken soup with rice tune. Heck, I read this entire book recently and found I could do the song perfectly with each and every line. Now maybe you have your own particular chicken soup with rice song style that you're just loathe to give up. If so, fine. I understand why you might not want to taint your already existing chicken soup melody. But if you haven't found a jingle to accompany this book, get the audio version immediately, if not sooner. Until you can sing "Whoopy once, whoopy twice, whoopy chicken soup with rice" with the correct oomph, you're missing out.
I take my "Chicken Soup With Rice" readings seriously. This book was the "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" of its day, and still remains the catchiest method to teach kids the months of the year. It is also seriously in danger of being forgotten. So pull out your old accordion and strap on your dancing shoes. The time for yukkin' it up to a merry dance of poultry broth is here. It's Sendak at his finest.
Book Review: MMMM chicken soup....
Summary: 4 Stars
Summary: A young boy describes the usefulness of chicken soup with rice for each month of the year.
Evaluation: With Sendak's creative repetitious and rhythmic words, children will enjoy and learn to read the story of a boy who loves chicken soup with rice! Through Sendak's catchy story, children will also learn the months of the year, as well as what seasons go with what month! They learn to identify ice-skating and snowmen in the winter; strong wind in March; birds and flowers in the spring; swimming and hot temperatures in the summer; and finally different holidays throughout the year. Such as Halloween in October, and Christmas in December.
Sendak's simple three colored crayon-like drawings are a perfect addition to his educational and entertaining story.
A great activity that you can do with this book is to have children draw their own illustrations for each month of the year. Afterwards you can bind the pages together so the children can create their own book.
Book Review: Nice cadence, catchy rhymes
Summary: 4 Stars
In June
I saw a charming group
of roses all begin
to droop
I pepped them up
with chicken soup!
Sprinkle once
sprinkle twice
sprinkle chicken soup
with rice
This is a great book to teach children the months of the year. The repetition of the phrases and the funny little stories with accompanying pictures make for an ideal bedtime read. This isn't nearly as good as some of Sendak's other books (like Where the Wild Things are or Pierre: The Boy Who Didn't Care), but it still carries his unique brand of charm.
Book Review: Love the book, miss the hard cover version
Summary: 4 Stars
I grew up reading these Sendak books, and watching the Really Rosie movie that incorporates them, and love them. My son loves them too. I do however, miss the hard cover version. The paperbacks seem kind of flimsy and it takes two hands to keep the pages open.Book Review: Chicken Soup with Rice
Summary: 4 Stars
A very entertaining rhyming story--cleaver and catchy.The illustrations are imaginative and fit right in. However, the paperback is somewhat small and flimsy. I'd opt for a bigger edition.