Jackhammer Sam

by Peter Mandel, David Catrow (Illustrator)

Atta-RATTA-batta-blam! Jackhammer Sam isn't just any old construction worker―he's the sidewalk blasting man. He stops traffic, splits the sidewalk, and digs right down to the subway, all the while singing his Atta-RATTA-binga-bong. Atta-RATTA-pinga-pong. Lively illustrations by David Catrow portray a larger-than-life construction worker (and the bystanders who become caught up in his destruction) in hilarious detail as he choppa-chops his way through the city streets, outer space, and beyond in this fun and frenetic tribute to road workers of all kinds.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Construction, Fiction, Music, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Peter Mandel is an adventure travel journalist and the author of ten children's books including the new ZOO AH-CHOOOO (Holiday House) and JACKHAMMER SAM (Macmillan/Roaring Brook). Mandel's books have come out from Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin, Scholastic, Henry Holt, and Hyperion, among others, and have been featured in USA Today, and on ABC's "The Home Show."

His titles have been part of exhibits at the Museum of Natural History in New York, at the Smithsonian, and at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and have been translated into Japanese, Chinese, German, Italian, Dutch, Swedish and Danish. Mandel's work is syndicated through Featurewell.com. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife, Kathy, and cats, Sam and Betty. Mandel grew up in Manhattan and graduated from Middlebury College and Brown University.

Mandel's newest picture books for kids are ZOO AH-CHOOOO (Holiday House), illustrated by Elwood Smith, and JACKHAMMER SAM (Macmillan/Roaring Brook), illustrated by David Catrow. "If a new Walt Whitman broke up sidewalks with a jackhammer," says The Chicago Tribune, "this is exactly what his 'Song of Myself' would be." "Like New York City itself," says Publishers Weekly, "Sam is wonderful and overwhelming, rattling and mesmerizing."

BUN, ONION, BURGER, published by Simon & Schuster in 2010, was named a Summer 2010 Children's INDIE NEXT PICK by the American Booksellers Association. His other recent kids' books include PLANES AT THE AIRPORT and BOATS ON THE RIVER, both from Scholastic. The Boston Globe calls them "a great way to introduce the idea of travel in simple terms." The Dallas Morning News lauds the books for "informing and calming very young travelers" and School Library Journal says that "spare phrases combined with bold graphic illustrations will entice busy toddlers" and that "a singsong text suitable for reading aloud makes these titles entertaining choices." Other positive reviews of PLANES AT THE AIRPORT and BOATS ON THE RIVER have appeared in Publishers Weekly and Booklist.

Another picture book, SAY HEY! A SONG OF WILLIE MAYS, came out from Hyperion Books for Children in March of 2001 and was named a Boston Globe "Quick Pick" for children, a Child magazine recommended title, a San Francisco Examiner "Bay City Best" and a featured book in USA Today's Sports Weekly. SAY HEY! is one of six titles selected for the newly published JUMP AT THE SUN TREASURY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PICTURE BOOKS and is featured in the "Baseball as America" exhibit curated by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and currently at the Museum of Natural History in New York.

His chapter book for children is MY OCEAN LINER: ACROSS THE NORTH ATLANTIC ON THE GREAT SHIP NORMANDIE from Stemmer House, which Publishers Weekly called "a voyage in grand style" and which was featured on a special family sailing on Cunard's QE2. RED CAT, WHITE CAT, another children's book, came out in 1995 from Henry Holt & Co. and was an American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists," a Kirkus Reviews "Best of the Issue," and a Working Mother magazine recommended book. In 1991, HarperCollins published his humorous book, THE OFFICIAL CAT I.Q. TEST. His more recent books include THE CAT DICTIONARY (Penguin) and THE OFFICIAL DOG I.Q. TEST (Bonus Books).

Mandel has published his articles and essays in Harper's, Reader's Digest, The Los Angeles Times, The International Herald Tribune, Budget Travel and The Chicago Tribune, and is a regular contributor to the travel sections of The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Huffington Post/AOL and National Geographic 'Kids.' One of his Boston Globe articles won the 2005 Lowell Thomas gold award from the Society of American Travel Writers for adventure travel article of the year. Other articles, for The Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun, won Lowell Thomas Awards in 2003, 2006 and 2007. One of his essays is included in the new anthology of travel humor published by Travelers' Tales: "What Color is Your Jockstr

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

AAAAAA-GGGGRRRAAATE - BBBBOOOOKKKK - FFFFOOOORRR - KKKKKIIIDDDSSSS!

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Catrow turns this catchy sing-song rhyme into a visual feast for the eyes.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used this in story time yesterday and let me tell you - the boys absolutely loved it. At the end when I had them chant back Jackhammer Sam's song even the girls enjoyed it too. I love Catrow's illustrations, in particular the dog perching on the stone on the back cover. It was fun. It's not the best children's book I've ever read. However, if you have a child who is fixated on construction sites this will be a fun read for them!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read a book illustrated by David Catrow that I didn't like. This one has a wonderful rythmic text and I can't wait to read it to the Pre-K kids!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun, and will be a great read-aloud book. The text has a rhyming, song-like quality to it...and what kid isn't fascinated by jackhammers and the like? :)

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful sing songy story that is made even better by Catrow's illustrations. I will never look at a Jack hammering construction worker the same again.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids who love playing LOUDLY will love this book! David Catrow's art style perfectly captures Peter Mandel's writing style. Jackhammer Sam is loud, sloppy and happy in his job, banging up sidewalks. There's a bit of exaggeration in a tall tale way, a lot of onomatopoeia and the whole story is a raucous song celebrating the destructive work of jackhammers. If you are a construction worker or if your child is fascinated by construction, this will be a hit!

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jackhammer Sam is a construction man with very loud tools. Everything goes "ratta-batta-batta-blam". This is not a great book to read for a calm 'good night story', but it could be fun to rile up a little kid by singing/shouting "ratta-batta-batta-bam". Not a bad book, just not one that I find especially memorable.

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seems that the artist really had a lot of fun drawing unusual looking people and dogs. The characters have that bug-eyed, ugly look that was popular in animation for awhile. It didn't really catch my attention, but kids who love construction work may enjoy it.

[Lauren McKinney]

This is cute story with wonderful illustrations about a guy named Sam. His occupation is being a construction worker. His job is manning the jackhammer. The book takes you through an average work day for Sam. It displays the sounds Sam experiences everyday in a bold font. He makes a song with his jackhammer and has fun while working. The illustrations are just as fun. Sam may have a little too much fun while working. His work ethics are not that typical of a construction worker. He turns out being quite lazy and making lots of people angry. He uses his belly to hold the jackhammer and ends up making more of a mess than anything. They are detailed and colorful. This book is a rhyming poetry book. It is cute and fun for children to read!

[Romelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a rhyming picture book full of onomatopoeia. It's about a jackhammer operator singing about his job and boasting about his loud, blasting drill. David Catrow did a beautiful job with the illustrations giving the book life and humor. However, the story, by Peter Mandel, doesn't do justice to the jackhammer profession. While young readers may enjoy the use and action of the jackhammer, it comes across as loud, disrupting, and annoying- serving no purpose. But in all fairness, the main character,Jackhammer Sam, is truly enjoying his job and showing his pride for the work he does. Your construction-loving reader may actually like this book.

[Shanshad Whelan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a 2.5 for Catrow's witty illustrations . . . but overall I just can't find it in me to give more to this book. A book about a jackhammer operator in the city sounded like the kind of read I'd like to do with my kids, but the actual execution leaves a lot to be desired. Our jackhammer operator doesn't seem to have a constructive purpose to his job and has some very unpleasant behaviors. I don't think anyone who is a jackhammer operator would find the depiction very flattering. And in the end, the overall story just . . . isn't there.

Sorry Sam.

[The Library Lady · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't fancy that most parents who read construction books to small boys will find Sam to be a fine model of manhood for little Jacob or Edward. The pictures of everything shaking are funny enough but Sam is (to put it mildly) not terribly attractive in physical appearance or behavior, and he gets more and more repulsive as the book goes on. Read this yourself before you read it to your kids because my guess is they'll latch on and you'll have to suffer through multiple readings. Be prepared.

[Sherita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book had excellent artwork! It was very creative, detail, and fun. I believe as a young child looking at the pictures in this book would be eye bubbling! David Catrow, used several bright colors and his details are very bold and unique. Although the art work was amazing, I could not say the story was as amazing! It was kind of a tricky book to read with all the rhythms, and the story was just not a very affective one, but I WILL get the illustration an A+.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackhammer Sam runs the jackhammer all around town. It doesn't matter what it is, he will use his jackhammer on it. Peter Mandel incorporated rhyming text and onomatopoeia to create this simple storyline of a man that loves to use his jackhammer. The illustrations are zany and somewhat over the top at times, but children will like them. This is a great read aloud for rhyming text and for introducing onomatopoeia.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the rhyme of this book, but am not thrilled with some of the words. It reminds me of old racist books that don't know they're racist. This is about a very large construction worker. All the stereotypes of construction workers are played on here. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because the illustrations are good.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This will be a great book for kids (especially boys) who love machines and building. The rhyming goes well and the dance at the end is fun. Catrow's illustrations add well to the subject and the jackhammer man's actions.

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be good for teaching onomatopoeia and I like the illustrations, but the text is somewhat weird to read aloud. Scott and Becky told me to sing this with the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star rhythm and I did which the kids seemed to enjoy.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's really no substance at all to this one. I'm fairly confident that a child will walk away from this one with zero additional understanding of what a jackhammer is (other than it is loud) or what Sam does. The rhyme is fun, but that's about it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though kids probably won't get a realistic idea of what a jackhammer does, the story here is cute - Sam really loves his job and has vibrant dreams of what he can do. With a ton of rhythmic onomatopoeia, this would be great for story time reading aloud.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big, bold and boisterous.

[Stefani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mediocre story, but the rhyme and pictures are fun.

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love David Catrow and this kind of meh story will get a lot more attention than it deserves because of him.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give it a 2 because the pictures are really cool. Would be too difficult to read for a storytime.

[Amee · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved the illustrations

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even wonderfully fun illustrations by David Catrow can't make this story come alive or interesting for kids. Jackhammer Sam is full of lessons learned from an urban worker's point of view.

[Danielle Simmons · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had very good illustrations and a catchy language rhythm to it. The storyline is a little wacky but children will enjoy this book and appreciate such vivid pictures.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter seem to love this, but that was largely due to my killer New York accent.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rhyming

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Catrow's zany and frantic illustrations. The rhyming text is pretty good here too, just not great.