Jump!

by Scott M. Fischer, Scott M. Fischer (Illustrator)

Overview

When a bug sleeping on a jug is chased by a frog, he has to jump to get away. But then that frog (who’s sleeping on a log) is in for a similar surprise! He’s attacked by a cat…who needs to jump away from a dog…and on it goes, until not even a shark is free from getting a little fright! Building on repetition that’s fun to read and fun to listen to, Jump! is a rip-roaring, read-aloud with simple rhymes and lively illustrations that leap off the pages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416978848
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	03/09/2010
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	529,331
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD250L (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Scott M. Fischer is a painter by birth, a musician by training, and a storyteller by choice. Best known as the author/illustrator of JUMP!, he is also the illustrator of Twinkle, the New York Times bestselling Peter Pan in Scarlet, Lottie Paris Lives Here, and Lottie Paris and the Best Place. Scott lives with his wife, daughter, and a menagerie of animals in Belchertown, Massachusetts.

Scott M. Fischer is a painter by birth, a musician by training, and a storyteller by choice. Best known as the author/illustrator of JUMP!, he is also the illustrator of Twinkle, the New York Times bestselling Peter Pan in Scarlet, Lottie Paris Lives Here, and Lottie Paris and the Best Place. Scott lives with his wife, daughter, and a menagerie of animals in Belchertown, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

Comic strip animals with googly eyes populate Fischer's (Twinkle) verse sequence, which has the kinetic energy of a jump-rope rhyme. “Well, I'm a bug. I'm a bug./ I'm a snug little bug,/ and I'm sleeping on a jug./ Until I see a frog, and I... [page turn for suspense] JUMP!” The frog's tongue lashes across the spread, while the purple and red ladybug makes a run for it. Next it's the frog's turn; its slumber is startled by a Disneyesque Persian cat, who is in turn disturbed by a hound dog, and so on. Fischer's action sequences recall the Sunday funnies, and the unvarnished paper accentuates the feeling. With each iteration, his watercolors feel brasher and more playful (a shark looks like he's more interested in wrassling with a croc than devouring it). By the time Fischer gets to a whale, the double-page spread flips from landscape to portrait as the animals are blasted into the air with a “sploosh!” from the whale's blowhole. Read-aloud takes no more than a couple of minutes, but it's a rousing couple of minutes. Ages 2-6. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

PreS-K—Short rhythmic verses sing the fate of small animals that sit or snooze quietly until increasingly larger animals come along, forcing them off the page. "Well,/I'm a bug./I'm a bug./I'm a snug little bug,/ and I'm sleeping on a jug./Until I see a frog,/and I…/JUMP!" A bug jumps from a frog that jumps from a cat that jumps from a hound, and so on until the whale ends the tale with a big "sploosh!" The simple, predictable text, based on a song, encourages children to hear the multiple rhyming words and to "JUMP!" at the repetitive finish. Preschoolers will love the fun and be unaware that they're developing phonological awareness and narrative ability, necessary pre-literacy skills. Bright, clear watercolor artwork takes full advantage of the white background. The cartoon-style pictures follow each verse's calm beginning to its final burst of action where the illustrations explode with the fleeing and chasing animals. These large spreads and the participatory nature of the text make this an excellent choice for storytimes.—Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH

School Library Journal

Nature's predatory pecking order reveals itself in bouncy rhymes and goofy illustrations. A fly, a frog, a cat, a hound, a crocodile and a shark get gobbled in succession after dramatic, last-ditch escape attempts. Each verse, sung from the animal's perspective, ends with an ellipsis, followed by a double-page spread of the critter leaping to save its hide. Children will enjoy helping the animals scram by shouting the word "JUMP!" which appears on these pages in large, expressive lettering. Fischer cleverly leaves the lip-smacking gore off the page, keeping his picture book palatable. Readers receive only mild, comic clues about the animals' demise. A frog leg dangles limply out of the cat's mouth just before the hound lunges, and the final page shows all the animals tumbling, disheveled, out of a whale. Hammy illustrations keep the laughs coming with bold strokes of charcoal, bright colors, bulging cartoon eyes, gaping mouths and lolling tongues. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews