Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme

by Nadine Bernard Westcott (Illustrator)

A favorite play rhyme takes on super-duper proportions as two children create a table-sized sandwich from scratch.

"A simple popular rhyme about that childhood culinary favorite, peanut butter and jelly, becomes rich fare indeed in this buoyant picture book . . . a fully satisfying treat."— Publishers Weekly

"A real treasure."— School Library Journal (starred)

"The softly colored, joyously sketched pandemonium will enliven story hours and preschool introductions with a perennially pleasing chant."— Booklist 

Genres: Picture Books, Food, Poetry, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction, Humor

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 24, 1987

About the author

Nadine Bernard Westcott is the illustrator of many popular books for children, including Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash and Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash, as well as the author and illustator of The Lady With The Alligator Purse. She used to spend many hours chasing after her dog, who would come home only when ready and not a minute sooner. Ms. Westcott lives on Nantucket with her husband, Bill.

Reviews

[Barbara Nicole]

Text-to Teaching Connection: What is a response activity that you can do in a classroom with children in response to the book? Be specific (e.g. drama, music, art, writing, math, science, social studies, etc.).

Although this book uses very simplified text, it uses plenty of repitition and rhyming words. This is a great book to use with my students who struggle with “how to” writing. It is basically explaining how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but in a fun and creative way. I would read this to my students during writing. While reading I would make a point to ask my students why certain words may be repeated. For example, “Why do you think they keep saying ‘peanut butter, peanut butter, jelly, jelly’?” By the end of the book we’ll discuss what they made in the story and the steps they took to making the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Lastly, I’ll have my students come up with there own “how to” writing. They’ll each pick something they know how to do and then write the steps or draw pictures explaining on the order of how to do it.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was hard not to sing along reading it. The kids enjoyed looking at the large sandwich.

[Kelly Lin]

I like this book because I like to eat the peanut butter and jelly. It also fun that children can make their own peanut butter and jelly with their own hand. I do understand that their might be some people who can not eat peanut.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with one of my students today. It's a really cute book about making a giant peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It has a refrain that's easy for kids to repeat and feel as though they are reading along, even if they are not yet readers. The illustrations are very well drawn and amusing. My student and I were particular fans of the huge loaf of bread and all the pictures with the elephants, though the one where they stomp the grapes in the bath tub is probably our favorite. I highly recommend this book for parents to share with children, as a part of a classroom library or read aloud, or for beginning readers.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imaginative illustrations to go with the well known play rhyme - I do appreciate that the last page includes an explanation of the rhythym and motions for those who may not be familiar.

[Wolfie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s nearly impossible to read without slipping into song, and that playful rhythm is what makes the book so much fun. The little one was completely tuned in from start to finish.

A favorite part is the hilariously oversized peanut butter and jelly sandwich made by the elephants. It’s wonderfully silly in the way only a good old children’s book can be.

Simple, energetic, and meant to be read aloud, this is one of those books where the joy comes as much from the performance as from the story itself.

[Hailey Forbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: contemporary realistic
Reading Level: lower elementary

This book would be good for a younger student. I️t tells how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The author uses repetition of the phrase “peanut butter, peanut butter, jelly, jelly”. This could be made into a jingle.

[Keri Rohr · Rating 1 out of 5]

Peanut Butter and Jelly is a modern fantasy book for grades K-2. I found this book very repetitive and boring to read. There was no purpose or lesson to the story. I would not recommend this book for a classroom.

[Anthony Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great learning tool with also some fun elephants in the book that help make the rhyme book more fun. They learn how to make there favorite snack that they can hopefully make them self. great book for all kids that love this food.

[Kali Hilliard · Rating 5 out of 5]

3-4; poetry; This book is a lot of fun to kids to play along with! At the end o f the story is a recipe that would be fun to make with yr kids/students (if they do not have a peanut allergy!)

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book that keeps kids' attention.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that has my one-year-old bringing it back to me over and over is a wonderful one in my mind.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great rhyming action book. Great for story telling and not just reading.

[mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because this book is fun to read and it is a fun book the end.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are nice, which is good because essentially that's all this book is. It's the old children's rhyme with lots of pictures. A nice lap read aloud, but not much to it.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in an Outreach Storytime. It was a favorite when my kids were little. Lots of fun with the rhyme and the motions.

[Nichole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why is this called a rhyme? It doesn't?

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a humorous and silly play rhyme that has been adapted into a children's book.

The rhyming narrative is fun to read aloud and we are always fans of Nadine Bernard Westcott's illustrations.

[Anna Nipert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great children's book to demonstrate "how to" writing in a fun and engaging way!

[Randee Bontrager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peanut Butter and a Jelly by Nadine Bernard Westcott is a fun play rhyme book for students. I liked this book because you can use motions while reading this book and you could also try to sing it while reading it. The illustrations also help this book more fun. This book just explains how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The intended audience for this book would be Kindergartners and first graders. The words are big on each page and do not include a lot of words. The words are also simple but for a Kindergartner the teacher would have to read it to them. A first grader could read his book because they know how to read better than Kindergartners. For an elementary classroom you can sing to this song and use hand and body actions while reading it. Then you can make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by using the steps created by the students.

[Samara Winter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peanut Butter and Jelly was a cute book for children. The story is about a kid who thinks of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then they learned to make every part of the peanut butter and jelly from scratch. Starting with the bread, kneading and the dough and then sticking gin in the oven. Next cracking peanuts and mashing them. In this scene the illustrator uses elephants to help the children. Then squash the grapes and put it all together. At the end of the book is a play rhyme.

This book is full of repetition. The rhythm of the book is like babababa..da..da "peanut butter, peanut butter, jelly, jelly... Then you take the knife and you slice it, slice it" The words in this book are not challenging and are an easy read for a kindergartner. The words are easy to change to help kids remember how to spell words or remember a routine.

The illustrations in the book are fun and silly. Wescott adds some fun elements to the story to keep readers engaged. She adds the elephants to help with mashing the peanuts and squashing the grapes. You know elephants love peanuts so there is a silly aspect to see them rolling on the floor cracking peanuts. I like how Westcott makes the kitchen looks so realistic. When most proper bake the kitchen is left in a mess; the sink filled with dirty pots and pans, ingredients left on the counter, and mixing bowls and measuring spoons on the table. The colors in the book are bright and vibrant and help the book to have a happy mood.

[Mary Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is nothing particularly interesting about this book, but for a small child it would allow them to start to learn the concept of a rhyme.

[Kimberlee Gutterman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book can be read as a song. This means the characteristic of predictable books is flowing language. This book is great for showing children how to make a simple food such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Although they will not be doing the steps such as mash the grapes to make jelly. And they won't smash the nuts to make peanut butter, but they can learn how to put them onto the bread to make a sandwich. This is a great learning experience because they will know that food has to be made by their parents and it doesn't just simply happen. This could also provide a bonding experience between a child and their parents when they are able to make food together and they both get to eat it.

[Mandy Scheuren]

Nadine Bernard Westcott’s work is not only a story but also a play rhyme. A young boy and girl assisted by a chef who teaches them how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! He directs them how to knead the dough and then how to bake it in the oven. Each line in the story is followed by “Peanut butter, peanut butter, Jelly, jelly”. Westcott becomes creative by having elephants crack open the peanuts for the peanut butter and squash the grapes in the bathtub to make the jelly! Throughout the story the elephants also assist the chef and children making the enormous sandwich which makes the book fun and enjoyable!

[Jennifer Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about a young boy and girl who assists a chef in making a PB&J sandwich. Along the way, the characters encounter other animals who help them to make this sandwich. This book is not only a great instructional story, but it is also a play rhyme. This book would be great to use in the classroom because it keeps students active and engaged by singing the words of the book, and they can also move their hands according to the parts (such as kneading). This book would also be beneficial for ELL learners in teaching them verbs.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Westcott, N. Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme. NY: Scholastic Inc (1987).

This rhyming book is a funny "instruction" book on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The way that the sandwich is made in the story is extremely silly and the characters make a very large mess, but eventually manage to make the sandwich and enjoy it.

This is a very cute story with great pictures and kids ages 3-7 will really enjoy this book. You could use this book to teach children how to follow simple instructions, and then perhaps make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a class.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrated playrhyme in which reader and listener build a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the basics. There are notes about performing the actions of the ryhme following the story.

This rhythmic read with Westcott's charming watercolor illustrations is among one of my favorite read alouds. The pictures are silly and add humor.

[Kendra Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was very cute and playful! I really enjoyed reading it and that all of the different characters help put this sandwich together. I think it is a good lesson for children to understand because even though a task may be small, it's always great to get help from friends and others. The artwork is also fairly creative. This is a good book to read as a bedtime story.

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

2.5 year old toddler really enjoys the rhyme and hand motions of this book. The second time I read this book, she already remembered the motions and moved her hands when I was reading. Illustrations are good. It also teaches the process of making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which is one of favorite food for many children.

[waffles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm far too old to read this book again, but I had a niggling memory of reading a book where some kids made a gigantic peanut butter and jelly sandwich for months. This is it. This is the book, and I distinctly remember loving the illustrations. Oh dear the nostalgia is coming to me. Excuse me while I go find other children's books to fawn over and remember.