Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble

Skippyjon Jones #3

by Judy Schachner

The Siamese kitty boy who thinks he is a chihuahua just can't stay out of trouble.

Skippyjon Jones can't stop his overactive imagination. This time, it takes him to ancient Egypt. Who should be wiating for him there but his old Chihuahua chums? They want to visit the Under Mundo—the underworld—where mummitos "rest in peas." But they need the brains and bravery of El Skippito, Skippyjon's Zorro-like alter ego, to answer the Finx's riddle and enter the oldy, moldy tomb of the mummy. Sounds like big trouble. But El Skipito gets the job done, yes, indeed-o.

Rhymes and riddles, rollicking wordplay, and much fun await all the readers who have fallen in love with the kitty with gigantico ears and an even bigger hear. ¡Vamonos!

Judy Schnachner is the author/illustrator of the wildly popular Skippyjon Jones series, The Grannyman, a book about an old Siamese cat, which won the Nebraska Golden Sower Award, and Yo, Vikings!, which won the Chapman Award from Planet-Esme for Best Classroom Read-Aloud for 2002. Ms. Schachner had a Siamese cat named Skippy who served as the inspiration for Skippyjon Jones.

Bonus CD available at URL listed on the Book jacket.

Edition MSRP: $17⁹⁹ USA / $23⁹⁹ (ISBN: 978-0-525-47754-9)

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cats, Animals, Fiction, Fantasy, Egypt

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Judith Byron "Judy" Schachner is an American children's writer and illustrator. Her works include the Skippyjon Jones series. Schachner lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Bob, and a dog and her two Siamese cats.

Reviews

[Shere · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why am I reviewing a children's book? Because I'm pretty sure this is the stupidest book I've ever read. It made absolutely no sense. Some of the words rhymed and some did not. Some of the pages had random Spanish words or Spanish-ish words and some did not. What are children supposed to get from this book? How am I this irritated over a children's book?

Example: "You seely leetle beast! To the Under World where mummitos rest in peas."

Seriously.

My two-year-old is now possibly traumatized for life.

[Esther · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this book 2 stars based on it's group-read-aloud potential for 3-5 year olds. It didn't do so good...probably one of the only books that bombed for my Early Learner Book Club class that I have been teaching for 3 years now. Sometimes I have to purchase the ELBC book without prereading and this time it came back to bite me.

First the children needed to be familiar with Skippyjon Jones to understand this book, for example I had to explain that he was a Siamese cat who thought he was a dog, a Chihuahua. (this gets explained in the first Skippyjon book but not very well in this one). Then I had to explain that Chihuahuas have their history from Mexico and that is why Skippy starts speaking in Spanish quite a bit.

Although I did not explain what the Spanish words meant I wanted to since there wasn't much context to help them. At times I wanted to point out the words that were just silly made up Spanglish words ("ito" gets added to some English words in attempt to be funny I think.) Then Eygpt culture and words are just thrown in throughout without much explanation or context to help them understand what those words/concepts meant either.

Then Skippy has a hard time understanding his friends and thinks the "underworld" is "underwear" and "peace" is "peas" and "mummy" is used in reference both to an embalmed person and Skippy's mother. The children did not pick up on these silly mistakes and were quite throughly confused and bored by the book. They did not catch most of what was supposed to be funny about the book or even learn very much about Eygpt which I believe was something the author was trying to accomplish. Maybe it would do better with the 6-9yr old crowd but I doubt it.

My personal belief is if you have to take time to "explain" parts of a picture book it isn't a very good book. It's like "explaining" jokes or telling how a magic trick is done. It defeats and often ruins the purpose of telling jokes, doing magic tricks and reading picture books to children.

[Julee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I personally do not use this book as a library read aloud. I am uncomfortable with the language because it reminds me of the old Frito Bandito commercials. My school is a dual language Spanish/ English school and I have no desire to offend students or their families by attempting to affect a comical Spanish sounding accent. Yet, it is a kid favorite so I keep them available. As always, the family is adoreable and loving. The mother ever patient. Above all, I love that Skippyjon has an imaginary life full of adventure.

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was all over the place - my 4 year old son lost interest halfway through.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic Plot: Skippyjon Jones heads into his closet and over to Egypt.

I love these Skippyjon books. The art is cute and the stories are fun in both plot and readability. My little guy likes listening to me read them, and I find them fun to read. There's a connection there when we're reading and clapping together that doesn't come when reading other books. That alone makes the Skippyjon Jones books worth hunting down.

[Dolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best kiddo book evah. My two-year-olds love it, even though it's meant for an older audience. The rhymes and silly names make it a great read-aloud book. All of the Skippyjon books are The Whole Enchilada.

[Trent · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the hell was this? It made very little sense & it was slightly racially stereotypical of Hispanics in Egypt, for some reason. So bad.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, I thought this story was so cute. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was hilarious.

[Everett Earles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those chihuahuas sure are silly! I think I’m gonna start working on getting mom and dad to get me a real life chihuahua.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skippyjon Jones never ceases to amaze and delight me. Every new adventure that features this spunky little kitten always has my full attention. I love the rhyme scheme in this book, the way it rolls of the tongue in delightful phrases that always seem to end in "ito." It is an absolute blast to read out loud. The illustrations are fabulous, Judy captures the essence of the little rascal and shows you what is going on in that "beeg" head of his. Ah, I'm in love with these books. I would highly recommend and even suggest that you buy one of these books.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2009...

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skippyjon Jones is a very clever cat with a huge imagination. Often it thinks of itself as a dog, because seemingly dogs are free to have more fun. Wonderfully illustrated and with a good smattering of Spanish words, this is a fun book series. In this book, Skippyjon Jones pretends he is in Egypt having adventures without leaving the confines of his bedroom.

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great adventure with lots of comedy.

Thank you Judy Schachner. We adore Skippyjon Jones.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Skippyjon series! It is hilarious and very imaginative! My kids especially like it when we read it with an accent ;)

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skippyjon Jones heads to Egypt to find mummies, until he wraps it up for bedtime.

[Daniel]

Cute

[Robert Solar]

This is a story about a cat named Skippyjon Jones and his adventures using his imagination. In this story Skippy the cat is reading about mummies and Egypt and wanting to go on the adventures. His mom came in and told him to stop reading and that those stories would give him nightmares and scare him. But Skippy didn't listen and went to his room and bounced on his big boy bed and looked in the mirror and saw the giant chihuahua. soon Skippy grabbed his masked and belt and was ready for an adventure. He was traveling down the river when he came upon his old gang of chihuahuas (which are actually stuffed animals) they talk about traveling to the under world to find mummies and treasure. they travel to the finx and the finx asks them a question before they can get into the under world a riddle and the answer was about Skippy. as soon as they got it right the gang was able to go into the tombs and explore but Skippy got trapped by these creature (which were his little sisters in disguise. and they wrapped him and as a joke. He thought he had found a mummy and was so excited he ran home. As he ran home he was a little excited and scared that he ran right to him moms arms and realized his sister had tricked him. The story ends with Skippy bouncing on his bed and talking about mummies aren't real his moms says she loves him and to now sleep.

This story is very interesting because it talks about adventures and these were some of my favorite books growing up. I like that some of the content is in Spanish so it takes time and fun to learn the story.

I think you could use this book to teach about Spanish and other languages and also teach about rhythm and how to write poems because that is the try of writing the book is in.

[Kristen Adair · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book about an adventure by a little cat named Skippyjon Jones. He is reading a magazine about mummies and decides to go off on his own adventure to find one. He meets up with his friends the chimichangos and they tell him they want peas from the mummy. So he goes into the dark cave where 3 goddesses make him a mummy so he can go get the peas. After he gets them he is so scared he runs away into the arms of his mom. Then we see that this was all his imagination and his sisters were the scary goddesses chasing him.
This is a really cute book! I read it to my suite before bed and they loved it. My favorite part of this book was that there is Spanish sprinkled all throughout the story. I think its a great story for the imagination, it could be helpful for any hispanic kids in the class, and its great for cat lovers. I would definitely use this book in my class room.
I think I would use the Spanish in the book for the class. It would be good to read the book and then re read it and ask all the kids what they think the Spanish word means whenever we come across one. This way they not only are learning Spanish but also practicing using context clues to figure out the meaning of a word that they might not know the definition of.

[Grace VanKirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

SkippyjonJones is a creative and rambunctious Siamese cat. He begins to read a story about a cat mummy and then crawls through his closet to Egypt. There he runs into his old friends, the chihuahuas and they want to go to Egypt too. They ride down the Nile, solve a riddle from the Finx, and go inside the pyramid looking for peas. Skippyjonjones ends up getting wrapped up like a mummy and fleeing the scene. Once he is back in the comfort of his own home, he gets comforted by Mama Junebug Jones and he discovers that his sisters are playing a trick on him. At night, he is only a little afraid to go to sleep. The illustrations of this book are very fun and overall the story is quite interactive.

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars because the plot didn't pique my interest. It might be confusing for young readers, especially if they haven't read the other books. However, I did enjoy the bilingual aspect of this book. It is a good way to expose children to Spanish. Also, I liked that there were interactive elements like claps, written into the story. Finally, the way that the text was written on the page is engaging and unique. The fonts changed and the shape of the words mirrored movement.

[Bailey Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved Skippyjon Jones books. I remember reading them when I was little and thinking they were hilarious! I think that in a classroom, students would also really enjoy listening to these books read aloud. The illustrations are interesting and fun. The font also travels across the page in different fonts and sizes. I think that this makes the book more interesting to look at. Skippyjon Jones is a cat who goes on many adventures in his house, and in this book he goes with his friends, Los Chimichangos, to the underworld to solve the Finx's riddle. He wants to enter the mummy's tomb. The other great thing about this particular Skippyjon Jones adventure is that there is Spanish incorporated in the book. This would be good for an English language learner to read because there would be some familiar words in the book for them. It would also be good for students who aren't ELL to learn some new words that they are not familiar with. There is also a song that Skippyjon Jones sings during the book and I think a fun assignment would be to split the class into groups and let each group come up with their own tune for the song and perform them for the class.

[Aubrey Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skippyjon Jones is a cat with a wild imagination. He has very big ears, so he thinks he is meant to be a chihuahua. In this adventure, Skippyjon Jones is reading a magazine about Egyptian mummies. His mother takes it away from him because she is afraid it will scare him, but Skippyjon Jones decides to go on the adventure anyway. He imagines traveling to the Nile River and meeting up with his friends, the Chimichangos pack. They decide to go to the pyramids and take some peas. The rest of the story explains Skippyjon Jones’s adventure through the pyramids to get the peas. The Skippyjon Jones books are very cute and entertaining books for young children. I like that there are words in Spanish incorporated into the text. The illustrations for these books are very large and colorful as well. I enjoyed these books quite a bit, especially as a child.

[Mariah Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has amazing illustrations that are context clues for the meanings of every challenging word in the story. Skippyjon Jones uses rhyming very effectively and the whole story is pretty humorous. This book also incorporates some Spanish and would be a great way to teach a few Spanish words in addition to English. This story is all about how Skippyjon Jones is convinced he is a chihuahua and he is always getting in trouble for being over imaginative. He reads about cat mummies and his overactive imagination takes him to Egypt where his friends, and himself want to visit the Under Mundo to spark his imagination farther.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenges: Book-A-Day in May 2021 (15/31); Reading Goal Post/Stacking the Series - Priority Two/Tier Three. This controversial children's series deserves some attention. The author delivers the story of Skippyjon Jones' adventure in Egypt using bright illustrations in acrylic paint, pen and ink. Despite some of the criticisms, the concept of a little Siamese cat who sees himself as a Chihuahua dog when looking in the mirror is a very original concept that you cannot help but find adorable. Skippyjon has an imagination and dreams his dreams as any child would. The author's play on words, both English and Spanish, create a recognizable style throughout the series.

[Ember Air · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for Banned Book Week 2019: This week is the first time I have ready anything Skippyjon Jones - I must say, I was expecting something like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, or Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (which I honestly didn't care too much for), but was pleasantly surprised! These books have a fun rhythm to the words, engaging artwork (the real chihuahuas in the mirror is always my favorite), and fun, imaginative and slightly silly stories. I LOVED the random references to other children's books too; what a fun game!

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skippyjon Jones confused me. Just when I thought I found the rhythm, rhyme or direction of the story, it would shift or go off on a tangent. Very random, which sometimes seems clever or funny, but sometimes reminds me of when my husband would fall asleep reading a story to my children, and the last few sentences he would "read" as he drifted off were pure nonsense. Of course it was hilarious, so I guess I can see why kids love Skippyjon Jones.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children's literature picture book bilingual
K-2

Another adventure in the imagination of Skippyjon Jones. This time he travels to Egypt giving students a small taste of ancient history. I didn't like this one as well as the first one I read, but could see how K-1 students could really like Skippyjon. His character, both in 'real life' and while he is imagining really comes out and draws in the readers/listeners.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought the first book treated Mexicans badly. But in this book, where Skippyjon Jones imagines Ancient Egypt, would offend Ancient Egyptians if their culture still existed. It’s full of stereotypes, misconceptions, and weirdly accurate deep cuts that I didn’t expect to see among all the stereotypes. And this book still portrays chihuahuas badly, and Skippyjon still wants to be a dog even though Ancient Egypt worships cats. Bad kids book with flaws that majorly undercut my nostalgia for it.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skippyjon Jones, the siamese kitty boy, who thinks he's a chihuahua, ignores his mother's warning about reading stories that will give him nightmares. His overactive imagination takes him to Egypt, when he finds himself trying to solve the riddle of the Finx, and he winds up in the underworld of an ancient mummy.

[Delali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so adorable and had my 7 year old laughing out loud through most of it. I love that his little cat family as well as some of the other characters are bilingual - it's very unexpected. My only criticism is that it was a bit hard to follow as far as the storyline; it felt like it jumped around a lot. However, we have other Skippy Jon Jones books that we're very excited to read now!

[Emilee Rodriguez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Overall, I was not a huge fan of this book. While it's cute and I have fond memories of Skippyjon Jones, it feels weird to me that the author writes many words phonetically in a way that gives the characters an over-exaggerated accent. While the characters are supposed to be from Mexico, it feels a bit offensive to make constant jokes out of their over-the-top accents.

[Beth Huddleston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I probably have read this book to my daughter three times this week alone. The first time was a little awkward because the rhythms change since there are poems interspersed with the prose, but the second and third times were easier and we started noticing foreshadowing in the pictures. It was a fun read with Skippy's wild imagination in ancient Egypt.