Ah Ha!

by Jeff Mack

Frog is settling in for a relaxing day at the pond. (AAHH.) But wait—there are other creatures at the pond as well. (AH HA!) And some of them are out to get Frog. (AHHH!) Not to worry, Frog gets the last laugh. (HA HA!) Using only two letters, along with many brightly colored and lively illustrations, Jeff Mack brings his hallmark humor to this rollicking book that will leave young readers guessing, laughing, and on the edge of their seats. Plus, this is a fixed-format version of the book, which looks nearly identical to the print version.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Humor, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 20, 2013

About the author

Born in Syracuse, New York, Jeff Mack has written and illustrated a long list of picture books, chapter books, and early readers, including Clueless McGee, Good News Bad News, Frog and Fly, the Hippo and Rabbit series, and Hush Little Polar Bear.

He has also illustrated many books for other authors, including James Howe's Bunnicula and Friends series and Eve Bunting's Hurry! Hurry!, one of School Library Journal’s Best Books of 2007.

At home in Easthampton, Massachusetts, he continues to write, illustrate, and visit schools and libraries to talk about his work. Visit him at www.jeffmack.com.

Bio taken from Jeff's website: http://www.jeffmack.com/short_biograp....
More biographical information can be found at http://www.jeffmack.com/biography.html.

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that uses just 2 letters doubled is a hilarious read aloud. Unique fun illustrations. This was a hit at Preschool storytime, many left saying "Ah Ha!".

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be so much fun for story times. It could almost be considered wordless, as the words are just sounds you make when you are scared, found something, or are happy. If sesame street was to talk about this book they would say it was brought to you by the letter A and the letter H. Great fun.

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entire book consisting of just the sounds "ah" and "ha"? Yes! Groups love this!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

At least it had a happy ending

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just read this book aloud to about 20 different classrooms of children in grades K to 5th, as a sort of teaser for our summer reading program, and it is so wonderful! After I inform them that they can read short or long books to get prizes, I bring out this one, and say, "This book only has two words in it: Ah & Ha, that's all. In fact, it actually only has two letters; A & H. But see how much of a story you can get out of those two letters!" Then I read it, and half the time, the kids repeat each line after me - unprompted, spontaneously. So, so joyful!

[Juliana Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 phrases, 36 words, 2 letters
Each word takes on new meaning as the story unfolds. A frog escapes capture from a boy with a jar, a turtle, an alligator, and a flamingo. The illustrations play a huge role in telling this story, but it’s the words, the tone, and the meaning behind each one that begs this story to be read and reread and read again.
http://julianaleewriter.com/writing-c...

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this! Great way to encourage kids to read with expression. Only two words: Ah ha! + Aahh! Reminds me a lot of Yo! Yes? in the way kids need to think about the story as they're reading it. Involves a lot of comprehension skills with only a little decoding.

Plus, so much fun, with many narrow escapes and cause/effect.

[KimBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Frog is settling in for a relaxing day at the pond. (AAHH.) But wait—there are other creatures at the pond as well. (AH HA!) And some of them are out to get Frog. (AHHH!) Not to worry, Frog gets the last laugh. (HA HA!)"

What a clever, clever book! This book screams to be read again and again...and it will be a great addition to any frog storytime.

[Alicia Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book! The entire book is told through variations of "Ah ha"s (Aaah! Ah Ha! Ahhh.) The frog just can't seem to have a relaxing day and he's constantly in peril. He's quite resourceful though, and he finds ways to escape and go back to relaxing. This book is very cute and will have young readers giggling on the floor. An excellent book to read aloud.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frog is having a relaxing day in the pond, at first; then things get troublesome for him.
Young readers will love following Frog as he gets in and out of trouble several times, and the only words used in the book are AH and HA in different combinations. Fun, bright illustrations.

[Carrie Gelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly wordless - effective use of just 2 words to tell this story - reminds me of the power of Hug! Great title to practice predicting and inferring skills. Lots of fun!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using just two letters, this is a cute story about a frog who gets caught and escapes danger. Great concept for a book.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious and excellent "wordless," sort of, picture book.

[YoKevinO · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great storytime book for all ages. I've done this one with preschool-2nd and they all loved it. It's a fantastic book to describe the scene as you go, and then discuss with kids what they think will happen. Many things aren't as they appear, and so those things become great discussion points. It's also a fantastic book for kids to mimic, as they will be saying "AHA!" right along with you. My favorite Jeff Mack book, just beating out Good News, Bad News.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's only 2 letters, A and H, found in this book. It's not what you say, but HOW you say it. There's several books that are of similar concept (Dude, Yo!, etc.), but this one is a fun one. With a good reader, it'd be a fun read aloud. School age kids would benefit the most, but a family storytime could be fun with this one.

[Tommie Branscum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good for the see, think, wonder thinking strategy. Very few words and the pictures are the way the story gets told. Available on our MackinVia platform but the pictures don't show to full effect well in this format. VSBA nominee for 2017-2018

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A frog keeps getting attacked by various critters (a little boy trying to catch him in a jar, a turtle trying to eat him, an alligator, etc). This would be a fun one for kids to join in with, because the only words in the story are "Ah ha!" and "Ahhh!" and "Aahh...".

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrowed from Jack’s school before the big lockdown, just returned. Simplistic but EXTREMELY clever notion pulled off wonderfully. Best part about it maybe it that it’s VERY easy for a tired parent to read.

9/10

[DeA · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that uses just A and H to tell a story. It is a great one for children who are learning to read and perfect for an afternoon storytime. Recommend to all children, very sill book.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very amusing, using the most sparing text. Well done all around. Great appeal to younger audiences.

[Ms. Jeane · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter really liked this book, but I found it a little hard to read since there are maybe less than 10 words (if you consider Ah-ha to be a word)...

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with 1st and 2nd graders and they were all hooked! Very clever fun!

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun one, much like "Mine!" but it has the same issues when it comes to using it for storytimes.

[Milton Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few simple words on frog's day. B

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever, with fun illustrations. I would give it four or five stars, but Mini-Me was less impressed, so I’ll go with three.

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m pretty impressed the author wrote a funny & entertaining book with only 2 letters 😊

[Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew that a book with only two letters could be so amazing? Ah ha!

[Donna Mork · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whole story is told with ah ha, ha ha, and aahh. Very cute and funny. Frog gets caught, then escapes, then almost gets caught again, then escapes again, etc.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uses two or three words the entire book. Would be very interactive. Fun. Frog is trying to avoid capture. And he has to escape. Will he???

[Phyll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. Hopefully I'm emotive enough for the kiddos to get it