spiffysarahruby's review
5.0
Gorgeous illustrations and a creative story showcase vocabulary in a smart, entertaining way.
ctorms's review
3.0
I loved learning about all the different collective nouns, a prickle of porcupines!
kellyjcm's review
4.0
Clever wordplay and imaginative illustrations made this an entertaining read. V was a fan of the silliness while Z was intrigued with the first rhyming lines and happily groaned at all the obvious puns and wordplay. We’ll enjoy this many times before it’s returned.
amandabock's review
4.0
Amusing wordplay and rhymes accompany beautiful textural paintings of absurd animals in this wonderful book.
heisereads's review
4.0
I often wonder what the name is for a group of the same kind of animal, and this book's rhyming lines and charming illustrations teach that in an entertaining way.
laura_mcloughlin's review
4.0
Very entertaining. Both Shaun and I learned some new collective nouns (who knew that a group of bears is a sleuth?). Kathryn enjoyed the book too and asked for it a couple of times. The illustrations are lovely and I appreciated the glossary (for other meanings of the collective nouns). On a side note, I'm not sure what sort of governing body decides what the "official" collective nouns will be but some are quite entertaining (mischief of rats) and some were just confusing (rumba of rattlesnakes?). I look forward to including as many as possible into everyday conversation.
scostner's review
4.0
For most kids, studying nouns and verbs is rather dull. And once the teacher starts talking about common nouns and proper nouns and collective nouns, you can almost see the students' eyes glazing over. But there is a remedy for that - comedy. Rosenthal's rhyming text and Jago's illustrations take the collective nouns for different animal groups and make them into an entertaining romp. Scenes like a "tower of giraffes" balancing on each other's shoulders to form an actual tower, a "raft of otters" floating past on a rustic log raft, or "armies of herring" with tridents and military caps will have young readers searching for details that reflect on the meaning of those collective nouns. Who could resist the "shiver of sharks" with their scarves and hats? What about a "drove of sheep" driving past in a double-decker bus?
It truly is a wild gathering - and will have students and teachers alike laughing their way through each of the examples. Perhaps they will even want to illustrate their own versions in a joint project with the art teacher. What a gallery walk that would make! I highly recommend this for any language arts classes, especially at the elementary level.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
It truly is a wild gathering - and will have students and teachers alike laughing their way through each of the examples. Perhaps they will even want to illustrate their own versions in a joint project with the art teacher. What a gallery walk that would make! I highly recommend this for any language arts classes, especially at the elementary level.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
wordnerd153's review
4.0
Detailed, whimsical illustrations and clever rhyming text make this a highly enjoyable way to learn about collective nouns.
maidmarianlib's review
4.0
Great way to introduce collective nouns, very playful. Has great vocabulary connections.