The Fantastic 5 & 10¢ Store: A Rebus Adventure

by J. Patrick Lewis, Valorie Fisher (Illustrator)

What lurks inside that mysterious store at the end of town? Only Benny Penny is adventurous enough to find out. . . .

In this book, you can read the words and the pictures. Perfect for children just learning to read, this silly, kid-friendly rebus picture book is sure to be a hit in the classroom and at home. (In a rebus, words are represented by images, or by an image plus a letter. And even beginning readers can take pleasure in reading pictures!) The pairing of Valorie Fisher’s full-page art with J. Patrick Lewis’s funny rhyming poem will give young readers plenty of clues for solving these fun and engaging picture puzzles.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Mathematics, Poetry

40 pages, Library Binding

First published September 14, 2010

About the author

J. Patrick Lewis is the current Children's Poet Laureate. He has written more than seventy children's books, including Once Upon a Tomb: Gravely Humorous Verses. J. Patrick Lewis lives in Ohio.

Reviews

[Kate]

My little girl and I had so much fun reading this book together!

[Lynn Davidson]

This is a very busy rebus story with pictures numbers symbols to translate into words. There is a Mr. Nickel, a Mrs. Dime and Benny Penny; a mailman, a barber, a butcher, a baker, a doctor, and several other characters.

[Tasha]

Something new has appeared at the end of town. Benny Penny sets off to find out what it is and discovers a five and dime store that is filled with unusual items. The only thing missing at the store are customers and Benny Penny has an idea of how to bring them in! Pure silliness, this book celebrates the hodgepodge of an old-fashioned dime store with its amazing mishmash of offerings. Told in rebus format, this book is not designed for emerging readers because the rebus clues are rather difficult. Instead hand this one to reluctant readers who are a bit older and will enjoy deciphering the story.

Lewis has written a poem filled with the strange and zany. It is perfect fodder for a rebus because it offers so much to draw from for the clues. Fisher’s illustrations and her rebus creations are very colorful and creative. They have a combination of vintage prints, physical items and modern illustrations. The mix is refreshing and fun, just like the rest of the book.

The puzzles in the rebus can be difficult to decipher, but that just makes it all the more rewarding and fun to try. Readers can also use context in the sentences to help with figuring things out.

An unusual and adept book that will have readers puzzling things out with smiles on their faces. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

[carissa]

In this book, you can read the words and the pictures. Perfect for children just learning to read, this silly, kid-friendly rebus picture book is sure to be a hit in the classroom and at home. (In a rebus, words are represented by images, or by an image plus a letter. And even beginning readers can take pleasure in reading pictures!) The pairing of Valorie Fisher’s full-page art with J. Patrick Lewis’s funny rhyming poem will give young readers plenty of clues for solving these fun and engaging picture puzzles.

[Jennifer Heise]

Once my six year old got the idea of the rebus, he picked up reading this pretty well, though some of the rebuses were a bit tricky (Cloud?). The rhyme scheme helped with the reading, but these weren't tough rebuses, and the silly plot also made it easier. My son struggled the most with the names Penny, Dime and Nickel, as he hasn't mastered those coin names yet! We read it together and he enjoyed it a great deal. A lot of the text relied on font tricks more than rebuses to help the reader along. But as an introduction to rebuses, my son thinks it is first-rate!

[Becca]

This rebus style book has been entwined just trying to decipher the page. It is a bit hard to follow, but once you get a rhythm and flow down, you read it much easier. There are numbers involved, making it a bit math-y. The pictures are irresistible and help you follow the story. Maybe 4th and 5th graders would have enough patience and higher thinking to read this on their own. If younger, read as a class would be more beneficial.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer]

While I enjoyed reading the rebuses that accompanied the pictures, I didn't care much for the story. I've never been a fan of nonsense, and this reminded me too much of "Jabberwocky." Objects coming to life and running races, flying, marching--not my cup of tea. It's ok, I guess, but I've read better rebus books.

[Donalyn]

A fun story told in a combination of rebus word pictures and text. The story was not as engaging as the word art, but young readers will love guessing the rebus words. I disagree with the publisher's blurb, which claims this is a great book for early readers. I think the pictures are challenging!

[Jess Brown]

Mostly I liked this one because it's a rebus poem, and believe it or not, I actually had a family ask me specifically for a rebus poem book! Voila! It's a little bit clunky to get into, but half the fun is figuring out the puzzle, right?

[Laura]

A rebus book! I enjoyed looking at the pictures, though I find the rebus format a very slow read. Are there other rebus books that people like? I would purchase this for a K-5 library because I think students would really enjoy the format.

[Heather]

I liked this strange little book, but I thought the rebuses were plenty tough. Some rebus books are for very young children. This one would probably work better for good readers, maybe 3rd grade and up.

[Matt]

A little tricky at first.

[Kate]

Liked the idea of this - a story told in rebuses, set in a junk store, but it didn't really work - too complex and long and confusing.

[Sarah Sammis]

Rebuses aren't my thing but both of my kids love it.

[Dianna]

My son and I enjoyed the rebus aspect of this book (it was my son's first rebus story), but the story itself made very little sense.

[Becky]

Fun reading puzzles with pictures. Engaging for both children and adults.

[Joy Lane]

It's tricky to read and a lot of fun. There are words as well as images for words that tell the story.

[Ginny]

This was a hard rebus book! Makes me happy for the easier ones lol.

[Rani]

The wonderful things you can find in a store. Take a guess with clues from the rebus.

[Pam]

A wonderful adventure to introduce rebus puzzles to younger readers.