bubblegum

Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum

author Lisa Wheeler

illustrator Laura Huliska-Beith

ISBN-10: 0689864698

ISBN-13: 978-0689864698

Excerpt:

Bubble gum,

bubble gum,

Chewy-gooey bubble gum,

Icky-sticky bubble gum

Melting in the road.

Bubble Gum Ball Maze

Activity:

Review:

In this rollicking tale, a blob of pink bubble gum melting in the middle of the road causes big trouble for five animals that get stuck in the "chewy-gooey icky-sticky" mess. Wheeler's snappy rhyming verse, loaded with silly words and onomatopoeia, begs to be read aloud: "Yuck! Ew! The Shrew's stuck, too! / Gooey shrew, gooey shrew / Pointy-nose-all-gluey shrew / Stomping, shouting 'FOOEY!' shrew / Can't get loose." The clever language is just part of the appeal of this well-designed picture book. Creative variations in size, style, and placement of text add visual excitement, as do the bold colors and patterns of Huliska-Beith's acrylic-and-fabric collage illustrations. Wildly exaggerated expressions and body language enhance the slapstick nature of the story and provide plot clues for pre-readers who are paging through on their own.

Lauren Peterson