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Nutshell Library
This 4-volume boxed set contains an alphabet book, a book of rhymes about each month, a counting book, and a cautionary tale all written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Includes the titles "Alligators All Around, Chicken Soup with Rice, One Was Johnny, " and "Pierre."(Titles available separately in library and paperback editions.)
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
October 10th 1962
by HarperCollins
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These books are great! The rhymes are simple and catchy. There is a moral to every story, and a three year old will sit through all four. When Matthew and I read Pierre, I have Matthew read the "I Don't Care" part. Hmmm...maybe that wasn't such a good idea, Matthew went through an "I don't care" phase when his parents first started reading him the books. I guess he's over it, but he still likes to read the "I don't care" part. Sendak really caught the essence ...more
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We based our story times this week on Sendak's "Nutshell Library" which consists of 4 hand-sized concept books.
Alligators All Around -- an A B C book featuring an alligator family bursting balloons, catching colds, doing dishes, entertaining elephants, etc. For purposes of story time the pictures were enlarged.
One Was Johnny -- a Counting book featuring Johnny who lived by himself. The story builds one character and event at a time, such as the house that Jack bui...more
Alligators All Around -- an A B C book featuring an alligator family bursting balloons, catching colds, doing dishes, entertaining elephants, etc. For purposes of story time the pictures were enlarged.
One Was Johnny -- a Counting book featuring Johnny who lived by himself. The story builds one character and event at a time, such as the house that Jack bui...more
Oh, how I loved this little boxed set. I reviewed the books individually at an earlier date. But it is worth noting that beyond the books themselves there was something so wonderful about owning the entire set. The child-sized box, taking the treasured books out and admiring their covers, deliberating about which volume to read first, that satisfying snap when all four books were safely back in place and ready to be toted around. Ah, life's simple pleasures!
These are a favorite from my childhood. I love "Alligators all Around", "Pierre: A Cautionary Tale", and "Chicken Soup with Rice" set to music. Wonderful to be able to share these with my kids, especially when Pierre, sung by Carole King...
"[He:] rubbed his eyes, and scratched his head
And laughed because he wasn't dead.
His mother cried and held him tight.
His father asked 'Are you all right?'
Pierre said 'I am feeling fin...more
"[He:] rubbed his eyes, and scratched his head
And laughed because he wasn't dead.
His mother cried and held him tight.
His father asked 'Are you all right?'
Pierre said 'I am feeling fin...more
There is something so appealing and intimate about a tiny book, undoubtedly because the small size necessitates "up close and personal" sharing. These four titles are forever entwined with memories of snuggling close with my daughter as we delighted in Pierre's cautionary tale, alphabetical alligators, counting up and down with Johnny, and a year of chicken soup with rice. These are precious memories, and just the sight of this mini set makes me smile.
Chicken Soup with Rice is the current favorite. You like to chant "chicken soup with rice." You always want to turn to the March page with the wind blowing down the door, whose violence slightly scares you. When you heard a song about a robin, you remembered the robin who concocts soup in his nest. You call the "goblin" on the first page a lion.
My parents got this little series for my sister and I when we were little kids. We LOVED these, and many many years later discovered that my parents kept this little treasure on their bookshelf all these years. Clever little stories illustrated beautifully.
My younger son received this miniature boxset of Sendak illustrated poems for his 4th birthday, a very nice gift. Sendak, like Roald Dahl, is pleasingly dark and they also seem to share an obsession with eating--a product of a Depression-era childhood?
A fantastic four book collection of children's books that fits neatly into the palm of your hand. So portable and easy to manage for kids. Fun stories and illustrations that are engaging to read over and over again.
I recently dug these cute little books out of a box from my childhood to read to Riley. They are fabulous - my favorites are Pierre, who always says "I don't care!" and Chicken Soup with Rice.
Also make sure to listen to the CD "Really Rosie" by Carole King.
"Pierre" is one of the best stories ever, and includes the lines (after cold and uncaring Pierre has been rescued from a lion's belly):
"He rubbed his eyes, and scratched his head
And laughed because he wasn't dead.
His mother cried and held him tight.
His father asked 'Are you all right?'
Pierre said 'I am feeling fine,
Please take me home, it's half past nin...more
"Pierre" is one of the best stories ever, and includes the lines (after cold and uncaring Pierre has been rescued from a lion's belly):
"He rubbed his eyes, and scratched his head
And laughed because he wasn't dead.
His mother cried and held him tight.
His father asked 'Are you all right?'
Pierre said 'I am feeling fine,
Please take me home, it's half past nin...more
Rosa
rated it
Recommends it for:
Anyone who likes books from their own childhood.
Recommended to Rosa by:
Through Self.
These books are so cute. I can recall a time when I used to watch short TV Program about the book Chicken Soup with Rice. These books will take you down memory lane !
A lovely and sweet little collection of stories for young readers, but adults will have fun as well.
I treasured these as a kid and now my two-year old daughter LOVES them.
fun to read to the kids, remember reading when I was a kid
Best loved of the four - Pierre! Oh yes, we cared!
My favorite of these books is Chicken Soup with Rice.
Jamie
marked it as childrens-to-read
Havent read it yet, it was on a recommendation list.
Hope these can last through Jonas. He loves them!
Ehbluemle Bluemle
added it
Nutshell Library (Caldecott Collection) (1962)
I feel very sentimental about this set of books. It comes as a set of four tiny books in a box. I also had these books on tape growing up which made them even more enjoyable. The worst of the set is the counting book "One Was Johnny" but that may be an unfair assessment because I seem to have lost the first four pages. The best is the months of the year book "Chicken Soup with Rice" which has a positively addictive rhyme scheme. Individually I would score the books from ...more
These books, all tiny (about 3 inches tall), are favorites in our family. They are a perfect size to fascinate small children and the stories are hilarious. " Pierre, a cautionary tale in five chapters and a prologue" is as much fun for adults as it is for children. Told in rhyme and illustrated perfectly, it was our favorite. But "Aligators All Around, an hilarious alphabet book, and "Chicken Soup with Rice", a calendar poem, are almost as good.
Where "Chicken Soup for the Soul" got started! "Pierre: A Cautionary Tale" is one of my all-time favorites. The Lion represents society, and Pierre repeats, "I don't care" over and over until the Lion (society) literally devours him. Whenever my boys say, "I don't care" in that tone of voice, I find myself quickly reminding them about what happened to Pierre. And "Chicken Soup With Rice" is always comforting. Excellent Illustrations.
As a child, these must have been some of my favorite books. They were really tiny, which made me feel like a giant when reading them. Nestled into a tiny box, I always felt like I had a special treasure when I held these books. Chicken Soup With Rice was my favorite, and I read it over and over. So many fond memories of childhood are brought to mind with this set.
Growing up, my sister had the Nutshell Library on the bookshelf that was just inside the doorway of her room. I used to sit on the floor there and read them. I was always jealous that they were hers. When she moved to the west coast after college and didn't think to pack the collection with her, I decided it was time to claim them as MINE. Best little books ever.
This is the first time where I've known every single word to a book (or, four, really) before actually reading it. I used to check out the "Really Rosie" TV special from the video section of the downtown library all the time, and later, I bought the Carole King soundtrack to said TV special. (It's totally the best thing Carole King ever did.)
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Pierre and if this little collection. He's so freakin stubborn he gets eatin by a Lion - Ha! I hear ya Pierre, I hear ya! I also rember Carole King belting out "Really Rosey" to the film strip - The storm was scary, the voice was raspy and the words were true: Damn! That's some good shit!
Eating chicken soup with rice! Pierre, the kid who doesn't care till a lion eats him! A, alligators all around and B, bursting balloons! One was Johnny who lived by himself! It doesn't get any better than this. Plus, the books are MINI and come in their own little bookshelf. Love, love!
Great collection of books by the author of Where the Wild Things Are. In particular the story of Pierre causes on to think "Where could I get my hands on a lion in order to help my child have a complete attitude change?"
I remember the "Chicken Soup with Rice" as one of the fondest books of my childhood. We must have lost all the others in this set, because the book looked exactly the same, but I have no memory of Pierre or the Alligators.
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Maurice Bernard Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature who is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963. An elementary school (from kindergarten to grade five) in North Hollywood, California is named in his honor.
Sendak was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents, and decided to become an illustrator after...more
More about Maurice Sendak...
Sendak was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents, and decided to become an illustrator after...more
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