Type of bind: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 40
Printing Date: 2004-09
Age index: Ages 4-8
Sale Popularity Level: 907948
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
'Amoeba'
Don't ever tease a wee amoeba
By calling him a her amoeba.
And don't call her a him amoeba.
Or never he a she amoeba.
'Cause whether his or hers amoeba,
They too feel like you and meba.
What if a boring lesson about the food chain becomes a sing-aloud celebration about predators and prey? A twinkle-twinkle little star transforms into a twinkle-less, sunshine-eating-and rhyming Black Hole? What if amoebas, combustion, metamorphosis, viruses, the creation of the universe are all irresistible, laugh-out-loud poetry? Well, you're thinking in science verse, that's what. And if you can't stop the rhymes . . . the atomic joke is on you. Only the amazing talents of Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, the team who created Math Curse, could make science so much fun. A CD with text read by Scieszka and Smith is included.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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This book is filled with useless nonsensical poems filled with scientific words, chemical names, etc, but with no actual point. While the illustrations are very cool, the book doesn't make any sense.
Reading this book is the most annoying task I've had in years.
Rated by buyers -
Unfortunately, I bought this book without looking at it closely enough, (while on a book buying jaunt with my two young children who were having fun spending their Christmas money.) My oldest had wanted it, and at a glance I thought it would appeal to his love of word play and be a fun way to get into science topics.
When I actually read through it, I was rather appalled. First, it dredges up the nonsense about "your grandpa was an ape" when discussing evolution. Then it goes on with poem about a teacher boring his school kids to bits with endless talk about dinosaurs. Another poem (and the accompanying illustration) depicts 'a man of science, not one of your mental giants' sticking a fork into a toaster - a great thing to have in a book intended for children! And just in case you don't get the message that science is boring, the book ends with a riff about how the main character has fallen asleep in class.
The illustrations are overwhelmingly negative as well - the main character is either bored, scared or disgusted in all but about two of the pictures.
Bottom line: Do not buy this book if you want your children to actually enjoy science.
Rated by buyers 
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It's good. The one with the CD of the author and the illustrator reading each poem is great. I wish I could find that CD version.
Rated by buyers 
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My 9-year-old has been quoting from this book since we got it months ago. I don't particularly care for the verse about dinosaurs, but most of the rhymes are cute, and they do impart information to those of us who were science-challenged in school.
It's a good book to transition kids from the generalities of early elementary school to more serious science.
Rated by buyers -
Okay. First of all, ignore the other reviews that rant about the unevenness of the poetry in here. Whoever said that all poetry must be measured exactly, like a recipe for the perfect peach pie? Lighten up people! Last time I checked, this book was in the children's section. The idea here is to have FUN. You can read this to your little ones, and they may enjoy the crazy little illustrations and such, but I think the older crowd will appreciate it even more. (By older, I'm talking about middle schoolers and high schoolers, but adults will hopefully get the humour in it as well). The more you know your science terms and/or poetry, the more you will laugh! There are some great twists on classic poems like Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and Thayer's "Casey at the Bat". My personal favorite was the section entitled, "Why Scientists Don't Write Nursery Rhymes", particularly the one based on Jack Be Nimble - made my test tubes shake with delight.
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