The Missing Donut (Big Words Small Stories Series)

by Judith Henderson

Overview

Big word coming! Big word coming! This collection of five stories follows the misadventures of a boy named Cris, who “likes things all in a row,” and his cat, Crat, who “likes to mix things up.” The two are visited along the way by the Sprinkle Fairy, who owns a word factory in Sicily, “where the best words in the world come from,” and her helpers, the Sprinklers, who have slipped one big word into each of the small stories. But don’t worry, kids may wonder who purloined the missing donut, but they won’t be bamboozled by the big words! The Sprinklers give readers a warning before each big word appears, and the pronunciation and definition after.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525301629
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	09/04/2018
Series:	Big Words Small Stories Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Judith Henderson is an Emmy Award-winning children's TV composer and producer. She is the author of the Big Words Small Stories series. Judith lives in Montreal, Quebec.;T. L. McBeth is the illustrator of Stegothesaurus and the Big Words Small Stories series. His work has been displayed at the Society of Illustrators. He lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

A HUMDINGER for budding wordplay fans.—Booklist

... a beautifully written and skillfully illustrated book which will help young readers build their vocabulary ...—CM Magazine

... a strong choice for emerging readers and will appeal to male and female readers!—Resource Links

From the Publisher

2018-06-25
Sprinklers say the darnedest things.Let's backtrack. Sprinklers are blob-shaped critters of diverse size and color who are helpers of the Sprinkle Fairy. They appear in each of the six brief, unrelated stories about a boy named Cris and his cat, Crat, to introduce, with fanfare ("Big Word! Big Word!"), an unfamiliar word to emergent and early-middle-grade readers. There's an arbitrary feel to the presentation, as though the tales were constructed around the words. The words are ones readers may not have realized they might want to know: "purloined," "discombobulated," "bamboozled," "smithereens," and "galoshes." More commonplace words in the stories that young children may feel are equally important, including "wizard," "fairy," or "sprinkle," aren't singled out (although, granted, they aren't as big). Each new word gets special treatment: It's used several times in context, sometimes in different forms; a pronunciation guide is provided; and it's defined at the story's conclusion. The final tale reinforces all the new vocabulary. Perhaps due to this conceit, the stories are only faintly amusing, with endings that fall flat. The cartoon illustrations, however, reminiscent of those in Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie books, are whimsical, expressive, and appealing, and they feature ample white space and capitalized sound effects. Cris and the Sprinkle Fairy are both pale-skinned, but depicted groups are diverse.It's not the worst way to introduce some new, unusual words, but this is unlikely to stimulate repeat readings. (Early reader. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews