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32nd out of 42 books
—
9 voters
The Little Red Pen
Poor Little Red Pen! She can't possiblycorrect a mountain of homework allby herself. Who will help her? "Not I!" says Stapler. "Not I!" says Eraser. "¡Yo no!" says Pushpin, AKA Señorita Chincheta. But when the Little Red Pen tumbles in exhaustion into the Pit of No Return (the trash!), her fellow school supplies must get themselves out of the desk drawer and work togethert...more
Hardcover, 56 pages
Published
April 18th 2011
by Harcourt Children's Books
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so, first of all I didn't know until this book that Janet and Susan are sisters. (blush). The Little Red Hen meets Office Depot. This of course lends itself to all sorts of puns and funny characters (the pushpin made me laugh aloud), & silly illustrations. (LOVED all the excuses on why they can't help the little red pen grade the papers). Great concept with lots of potential, however I think the story could have been edited a little. Nice message about individual talents helping the team. Su...more
The Little Red Pen needs help grading the student's papers so that they can all learn, but there's so much work to do and she cannot do it alone. She calls on her helpers Eraser, Stapler, Pencil, Highlighter, Scissors, and Pushpin to get the job done so they can ultimately "save the world". However, the helpers hide from the Little Red Pen as they all have ailments that will keep them from grading all those papers. The Little Red Pen takes on the task all by herself which turns out to be not suc...more
The authors make use of every single page in this book—to great effect! The story pretends that a teacher’s office supplies come to life at night and actually grade papers—the teacher doesn’t even appear in this story. Just a desk, a mountain of papers, an assortment of office supplies with distinct personalities and the class hamster are depicted with detailed pencil drawings with color added. Each office supply has a face that gives the readers clues to their personality trait; for example, Er...more
Wordplay runs amok in Janet Stevens' latest picture book. It's the old story of Little Red Hen retold, sort of, but then again, it's completely different. Sitting atop a paper-cluttered teacher's desk, Little Red Pen rushes to get papers graded. If they don't get the papers graded, she says, "the students won't learn, the school might close, the walls might tumble, the floor might crumble, the sky might fall, it might be the end of the world! Who will help me save the world?"
But from Stapler, E...more
But from Stapler, E...more
Susan Stevens is one of my all time favorite children's author/illustrators. I always anxiously await her next book. This is a delightful new take on the tale of the Little Red Hen with beautiful illustrations. Adults will enjoy the humor, but I'm not sure elementary readers will get it.
What I liked about the book: I loved the illustrations. Stevens has done an excellent job giving life and animation to all the office supplies. I liked that there is a moral to the story - working together can ge...more
A humorous retelling of "The Little Red Hen," this story tells of a Little Red Pen who is frantically trying to get all the days papers graded. She needs help, but the other desk inhabitants, Stapler, Scissors, Highlighter, Pencil, Eraser, Pushpin and Ruler don't want to help. That is, they don't want to help until Red Pen falls off the desk into the "Pit of No Return!" Then they all have to figure out a way to get her out of the Pit.
Not a great read-aloud as there is a lot of sophisticated humo...more
Not a great read-aloud as there is a lot of sophisticated humo...more
This is a really cute picture book. All of the desk supplies come to life with personalities of their own. The little red pen is trying to correct mountains of papers for school or of course the children won't learn. She tries and tries but knows she needs help. In true "little red hen" fashion, she asks everyone to help her, but they all come up with excuses. Well, the little red pen keeps working and finally falls over the edge into the trash from exhaustion. The other supplies try to rescue h...more
I performed this book as a read-aloud with some teacher friends at the Oklahoma Writing Project Summer Institute. I played the part of the eraser whose memory failed him, which was highly appropriate, as this was the end of the SI, and my brain was slowly turning to mush. One of my friends played the role of the uptight red pen, complete with a red cap made from rolled up red butcher paper. While all the acting was fun, the message of this book is that all papers must be graded or the world will...more
In The Little Red Pen by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel, the office supplies do not want to help Little Red Pen grade papers. They are afraid of getting used up and ending up in the trash like some of the other unfortunate office supplies. When Little Red Pen calls on them to help her grade the school papers, they hide in the desk and leave Little Red Pen to do all the work herself. Little Red Pen becomes so exhausted that she falls into the trash can. The office supplies realize that...more
Filled with hilarious word play and wonderful personalities on the part of the various implements needed by a hard-working teacher as she grades papers, this picture book shows that if we all pull together, we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to do. The illustrations bring out the different personalities of the office supplies with the befuddled eraser forgetting things and the scissors quick to cut things up. Older adult readers may find this title even more enjoyable than young readers...more
The Little Red Pen, by Janet Stevens is the silly adventure of school supplies. Much like the Little Red Hen, in this story the Little Red Pen needs help! She asks her friends to help her grade papers, but everyone has their excuse. When she falls into the pit of no return (the wastebasket) the other school supplies band together to save her and finish grading the papers. Can they work together to save their friend, or will she suffer the same fate as the dried up felt-tip marker? Read The Littl...more
The Little Red Hen was one of my favorite stories as a child, and I still love it today in all its forms and adaptations. Stevens' latest pays homage to that timeless classic, but the story is the Stevens' girls own. Janet and Susan take the old story much farther than a warning about laziness. A teacher's grading pen and desk supplies tell a tale of friendship, cooperation and task dedication that refuses to burn out from stress and difficulties that will be shared at my first faculty meeting r...more
I didn't know what to expect with this one and I was surprised at what I found. I'm also surprised this is the first of it's kind that I've come across.
In my experience too many 'bubble texts' can easily take away from the story. This story has a lot. I guess I like to just read straight through without having to worry about "extras" but the whole "speech in a bubble" thing should be saved for comics for the most part. IMHO.
Susan Stevens Crummel's illustrations work perfectly with the storyline...more
In my experience too many 'bubble texts' can easily take away from the story. This story has a lot. I guess I like to just read straight through without having to worry about "extras" but the whole "speech in a bubble" thing should be saved for comics for the most part. IMHO.
Susan Stevens Crummel's illustrations work perfectly with the storyline...more
I enjoyed this read. It is funny! The Red pen is grading paper during the night. Although she asks for help, no one will. When she falls into the trash can accidently the others ( eraser,scissors, stapler, ruler, highlighter) try to help grade the papers but make a mess. They decide to rescue the Red pen. It's daring & dangerous in a hilarious sequence of events they save the day and Little Red Pen.
RECOMMEND. This is one to add to your Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel collection.
RECOMMEND. This is one to add to your Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel collection.
Oh no, when I read the other reviews on this title, I thought uh-oh...I must've really missed the boat on this one. While the illustrations are loads of fun, the story fell a bit flat for me and my audience. The Little Red Pen and his cohorts are terrified of the "pit of no return" (trashcan). When one of their own wanders too close to the edge of the desk and tumbles into this dreaded pit, they must all put their office supply heads together to find a solution.
A take off on "The Little Red Hen" where none of the other "tools" want to help the "Little Red Pen" grade the papers. Okay...so saving the world might be a bit much for the grading of papers, and of course we don't really encourage grading with red pen, but I loved all the roles that the other tools (stapler, ruler, paper clips, yardstick, eraser, etc.) played and the play on words with their role. I love most everything these two sisters create.
Best as a read-loud, this picture book by the Stevens sisters is another fun twist on classic genre of picture book, but doesn't quite match my love for The Jackalope. When performed by a talented multi-voiced reader, this story will really shine. Monotone readers need not apply.
Best appreciated by the 3-7 year old crowd, I also recommended this as a gift book for First and Second grade teachers looking for reprive from the grind of grading papers.
Best appreciated by the 3-7 year old crowd, I also recommended this as a gift book for First and Second grade teachers looking for reprive from the grind of grading papers.
I OWN A SINGLE COPY.
BOUGHT THROUGH THE LIBRARY.
APART OF THE GOODREADS 2011 READING CHALLENGE.
Review/Rating:
4 out of 5
Ease of Reading Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Plot: 4 out of 5
The Little Red Pen always does all the work while all her helpers do nothing. However, when the Little Red Pen disappears, will they be able to finish grading the papers before the students come back to school?
The plot is kind of normal for a children’s book, but I liked the humor and characters in it. Also,...more
BOUGHT THROUGH THE LIBRARY.
APART OF THE GOODREADS 2011 READING CHALLENGE.
Review/Rating:
4 out of 5
Ease of Reading Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Plot: 4 out of 5
The Little Red Pen always does all the work while all her helpers do nothing. However, when the Little Red Pen disappears, will they be able to finish grading the papers before the students come back to school?
The plot is kind of normal for a children’s book, but I liked the humor and characters in it. Also,...more
Thank you, JB, for telling me about this book (even though you were teasing me about my need to edit everything)! I loved it. The illustrations and graphic presentation are fabulous, including touches like having the lines of dialog in different colors and style for each character. I haven't read it with a child yet, so am not sure how it translates to a kid, but I'm eager to try it soon. I plan to buy it for a neighbor's birthday right away!
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This is a fun story about cooperation and courage among the office supplies in a teacher's desk. It's a take on The Little Red Hen, but bears only a slight resemblance. The illustrations are colorful and fun and the puns are plentiful throughout the dialogue. We enjoyed reading this story together.
The Little Red Pen was an amazing book to read with my young niece! At 5 yrs old she is just learning to put words together and this book is ideal for shared reading.
Each character has a vibrant personality, a job to do, a problem to be solved and lots of simple sentences for a young reader to explore.
It is a great book to read when introducing inflection in story telling and yes, there is a moral to the story. :)
Each character has a vibrant personality, a job to do, a problem to be solved and lots of simple sentences for a young reader to explore.
It is a great book to read when introducing inflection in story telling and yes, there is a moral to the story. :)
i didn't really love this - it felt too abstract and wordy for kids, although the concept was a good one in theory, and i generally like twists on a traditional fairy tale/folk tale/fable. however, my 2-year-old was completely enamoured with this one. i snuck it back to the library, and she begged for me to get it out again. after countless readings, i have a fondness for this book because it was such a huge hit.
Unlike other Janet Stevens titles, I see this as being more suited to older readers as a mentor text for personification, humor, word play, plot structure, etc. Older readers could see the "red ink" and piles of papers for what they are- today's reality- and keep it in perspective, even discussing possible ironic intent, ala FINE SCHOOL, but it gives the wrong message to younger readers.
I love Janet Stevens' work, especially when she collaborates with her sister, Susan Stevens Crummel. The Little Red Pen is a lovely parody on the classic children's story. Clever dialogue and charming illustrations full of character make this a great read. I plan to use this in the fall with my high schoolers to help them understand parody; maybe even having them write their own.
After the children leave, how do the school supplies spend their time? Grading papers of course! Red Pen has an enormous pile to work through, but when she asks the other supplies for help they claim they have no talent for it. But when she falls in the dreaded "pit," each tool realizes that they can use their unique skills to help "save the world." Fun wordplay throughout.
Nov 09, 2012
Laura
added it
This is a really fun and unique take on the classic "Little Red Hen" story. And they even manage to throw in a Spanish speaker into the story! In this case it is the Little Red Pen that needs help from various other school supplies, and she needs help "saving the world" as she puts it (or in other words, grading some papers). It is a story of teamwork and helping others and not giving up. As other little red hen stories have been used, this story would be great for a beginning, middle, end lesso...more
I rounded up to 3 stars on this one because of the cool illustrations, and the fact that I have a "thing" for office supplies, especially pens. (I've been known to linger in the "pen" aisle longer than normal, whatever "normal" is. But red marks have a bad repution on school papers, and I had a hard time reconciling that as I read this book, targeted for children.
A very odd book. It doesn't seem suited to young children (mine would have been upset by the pin stabbing the hamster), but it's too simplistic and repetitive for adults. I didn't find it at all funny and some of the illustrations were rather creepy. There are lots of enthusiastic reviews on Goodreads, however, so perhaps it's just me.
This book has a ton of great uses in a classroom. It can be used to compare and contrast to The Little Red Hen, or for lessons on personification, word play, or working together. That said, I only gave it three stars because, while my son and I loved it, my husband and teacher friend didn't get it at all. Look through the reveiws and you'll see it's very polarizing- people either love it or hate it. Either way, it's definitely worth a peek.
I wanted to love this book as the illustrations were really neat. But it fell so flat for us. We didn't even finish it. My daughter warned as I brought it to her room...no not that one I looked at it in the car and it is no good. She was right. Kind of a dud - and I really hate to write that as I wanted to like this one.
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Janet Stevens is a children's books illustrator and author.
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