Who, Said Sue, Said Whoo?

by Ellen Raskin

Charming pictures and verse relate the antics of a little girl who encounters a variety of animals while riding in a car

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Animals, Childrens

30 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Ellen Raskin was a writer, illustrator, and designer. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up during the Great Depression. She primarily wrote for children. She received the 1979 Newbery Medal for her 1978 book, The Westing Game.

Ms. Raskin was also an accomplished graphic artist. She designed dozens of dust jackets for books, including the first edition of Madeleine L'Engle's classic A Wrinkle in Time.

She married Dennis Flanagan, editor of Scientific American, in 1965.

Raskin died at the age of 56 on August 8, 1984, in New York City due to complications from connective tissue disease.

Reviews

[Stacy Pershall · Rating 5 out of 5]

My very favorite book as a little kid! I checked it out from the library over and over again. Several years ago, that library had a big book sale, and my mom went. She found MY VERY COPY in a box for ten cents. It's one of the possessions I'd save in a fire.

Eventually, I'll have a tattoo of Sue.

[Russell Manley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. The sound effects had me laughing.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it and I now have it memorized. Even my 9 month old baby Lily starts to smile and laugh when I recite the words to her.

[Angela Rueger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite childhood books, so it's no wonder that I've held onto it for 50 years. I read it for myself as a child, read it to children I would babysit, then read it to my own children, and soon I'll get to read it to my first grandchild. The artwork drew me in, but the poetry kept me there. It's kind of an Opie poem, and that style has a tremendous appeal to readers of all ages, but especially, I think, the young ones. The funny thing is that I never quite understood the last page until just a few days ago, when I read the book for probably the hundredth time. Before, I always only saw the friendship, but now I see it on a different level. Read it for yourself, then tell me if you see what I see.

[Susan Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how the story builds, and I'm Sue, so what's not to like?

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Builds phrases as it works through who says what, i.e. “the cross-eyed owl said whoo” and “the polka dot cow said moo”, etc.

[Debi Cates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten, fifteen, maybe twenty years ago I picked this up at a garage sale, long after my children were grown but were just beginning to have children of their own.

It has no cover and the first few pages are torn across the bottom. The pages are yellowed and growing brittle. Probably should immediately be walked over to the trash can and dumped in.

I can't bring myself to do that. Raskin's lovely and quirky illustrations are such a visual delight. Instead, all these years I have just tucked it in between two other, er, more upstanding books on my shelf.

Too bad I missed the window of opportunity to overcome its shameful condition and actually read it to any one of the five grandchildren, what with the youngest now being -- gulp! -- almost seven. I'm certain had I read it aloud to a three-five year old it would have been a hit, all those "oo" sounds building to glee and excitement, anticipating the next animal that Sue adds among her travel companions. It's just the kind of thing that a kiddo would beg to have read to them over and over.

I bet that explains the same dilemma of the previous owner who also couldn't throw it away and instead put it in a garage sale for a nickel. A velveteen rabbit of sorts.

P.S. I read a review here from someone who said this was their favorite book growing up. They now want to have a tattoo of Sue. I love that.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saved this book from the trash. A library I am familiar with had this in the discard pile. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this book so I picked it up.

I am not a fan of the text. I see this is someone's favorite book. I'm sorry that I can't love it as she does. It's just silliness and uninteresting to me.

The images I like. They remind me of Maurice Sendek and are very 1970s in look and feel. I like that. :)

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a cumulative text book and an animal noise book, sort of, but the noises aren't really the familiar ones. These animals make all sorts of noises, and some don't make any noises at all. There are bits of the rhyme that have SUCH good rhythm, but it immediately loses itself before picking up again. Still, it's fun to read out loud for certain parts.