What do you think?
Rate this book
Sometimes I Wonder If Poodles Like Noodles
Sometimes I wonder
do lions use irons,
Do poodles
eat noodles,
Can chickens
read Dickens...
WHAT'S THAT? You don't know the answers, you haven't a clue? That's okay -- sometimes it's fun just to wonder. In this collection of playful poems there are musings about everything in a child's world, from "A Day at the Beach" to "My Friend's Freckles" (do they go all the way down to your toes?). The short verses are a delight to read aloud and are brought to life in funny, imaginative pictures. This book is sure to inspire plenty of giggles as it challenges readers to find the silliness in their own surroundings.
do lions use irons,
Do poodles
eat noodles,
Can chickens
read Dickens...
WHAT'S THAT? You don't know the answers, you haven't a clue? That's okay -- sometimes it's fun just to wonder. In this collection of playful poems there are musings about everything in a child's world, from "A Day at the Beach" to "My Friend's Freckles" (do they go all the way down to your toes?). The short verses are a delight to read aloud and are brought to life in funny, imaginative pictures. This book is sure to inspire plenty of giggles as it challenges readers to find the silliness in their own surroundings.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Laura Joffe Numeroff
108 books1,010 followersLaura Joffe Numeroff is the NYT best-selling author of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,
What Mommies/Daddies Do Best
and Raising a Hero. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Pratt Institute. Laura grew up as the youngest of three girls, surrounded by art, music, and books. An avid animal lover, Laura has always wanted to write a book about service dogs. She now lives in Los Angeles, California.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Read
April 6, 2017Title: Sometimes I Wonder if Poodles like noodles
Author: Laura Numeroff
Illustrator: Tim Bowers
Genre: Poem Picture Book
Theme(s): Humor, Imagination,
Opening line/Sentence: Sometimes I Wonder if Poodles like Noodles, do lions use irons
Brief Book Summary: Silly poems for little kids. Written from the point of view of children. Play on words with rhyming patterns.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Through her many picture books, Numeroff has proven that she has a unique grasp of a child's perspective. Unfortunately, in this book of poems her keen voice is completely undermined by clunky and uninspired rhyming verse. A young narrator introduces readers to the many aspects of her busy life: her dog, her grandparents, a trip to the museum, being sick in bed. The activities and thoughts portrayed are all on target, but the language is lackluster: "We read from my book/About a house with a ghost/Until it scares us too much,/Then we go have some toast." Each poem reads as if the rhyme had driven the composition, tripping up both the content and the meter. Bowers's warm oil paintings, soft edged and detailed, end up conveying all of the emotion in the book.- Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
The title of Numeroff's (If You Give a Pig a Pancake) uneven collection of verse represents the first line of her opening poem, which goes on to speculate: "Do lions use irons,/ Can chickens read Dickens,/ Do horses take courses,/ Can beavers be weavers...." Unfortunately, its whimsy and lively cadence appear in few of the subsequent poems, all written in the voice of a cheerful girl. Aided considerably by Bowers's (Six Voyages of Pleasant Field Mouse) lifelike oil paintings, the verses do capture the child's likable personality. Yet they come up short in both inventiveness and composition. For instance, despite its kid-pleasing theme, "On Halloween" reads as a lackluster listing of costumes worn by the narrator's friends. On a number of occasions, rhythm falters and rhyme schemes get lost, as in the inaugural stanza of "A Day at the Beach": "This summer when I go to the beach/ I'd like to collect some shells./ I'll string them together and hang them at home/ So when the wind blows they'll sound like bells." Bowers's illustrations provide a narrative through line, incorporating various members of the girl's household as well as images that range from the fanciful (a meticulously clipped poodle slops up pasta, a beaver happily weaves a basket) to the realistic (at bedtime, the girl perches on her bed, hugging her dolls and stuffed animals). This book's graphics will linger in children's memories longer than its verse. Ages 4-8. (May)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
I think that the illustrations were really good. I can agree that some of the book is just pointless and uses random words that don’t really fit to rhyme with. It is definitely a book for younger audiences because the humor is very pointless and just silly. I think that it would be interesting for younger children.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
The rhyming patterns are a good first book to teach children about poetry. The characters are silly and the book is humorous. I think that it is a good teaching book, but its not the most educational. The writing is very fictional and more about entertainment than anything.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
I would use this book to teach basics about writing poetry. I think that kids will like it for the silliness. I would use this in first or second grade classrooms and have children write their own poems about different things that are fictional. I would also use it to teach about drawing with writing and how that enhances writing.
Author: Laura Numeroff
Illustrator: Tim Bowers
Genre: Poem Picture Book
Theme(s): Humor, Imagination,
Opening line/Sentence: Sometimes I Wonder if Poodles like Noodles, do lions use irons
Brief Book Summary: Silly poems for little kids. Written from the point of view of children. Play on words with rhyming patterns.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Through her many picture books, Numeroff has proven that she has a unique grasp of a child's perspective. Unfortunately, in this book of poems her keen voice is completely undermined by clunky and uninspired rhyming verse. A young narrator introduces readers to the many aspects of her busy life: her dog, her grandparents, a trip to the museum, being sick in bed. The activities and thoughts portrayed are all on target, but the language is lackluster: "We read from my book/About a house with a ghost/Until it scares us too much,/Then we go have some toast." Each poem reads as if the rhyme had driven the composition, tripping up both the content and the meter. Bowers's warm oil paintings, soft edged and detailed, end up conveying all of the emotion in the book.- Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
The title of Numeroff's (If You Give a Pig a Pancake) uneven collection of verse represents the first line of her opening poem, which goes on to speculate: "Do lions use irons,/ Can chickens read Dickens,/ Do horses take courses,/ Can beavers be weavers...." Unfortunately, its whimsy and lively cadence appear in few of the subsequent poems, all written in the voice of a cheerful girl. Aided considerably by Bowers's (Six Voyages of Pleasant Field Mouse) lifelike oil paintings, the verses do capture the child's likable personality. Yet they come up short in both inventiveness and composition. For instance, despite its kid-pleasing theme, "On Halloween" reads as a lackluster listing of costumes worn by the narrator's friends. On a number of occasions, rhythm falters and rhyme schemes get lost, as in the inaugural stanza of "A Day at the Beach": "This summer when I go to the beach/ I'd like to collect some shells./ I'll string them together and hang them at home/ So when the wind blows they'll sound like bells." Bowers's illustrations provide a narrative through line, incorporating various members of the girl's household as well as images that range from the fanciful (a meticulously clipped poodle slops up pasta, a beaver happily weaves a basket) to the realistic (at bedtime, the girl perches on her bed, hugging her dolls and stuffed animals). This book's graphics will linger in children's memories longer than its verse. Ages 4-8. (May)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
I think that the illustrations were really good. I can agree that some of the book is just pointless and uses random words that don’t really fit to rhyme with. It is definitely a book for younger audiences because the humor is very pointless and just silly. I think that it would be interesting for younger children.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
The rhyming patterns are a good first book to teach children about poetry. The characters are silly and the book is humorous. I think that it is a good teaching book, but its not the most educational. The writing is very fictional and more about entertainment than anything.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
I would use this book to teach basics about writing poetry. I think that kids will like it for the silliness. I would use this in first or second grade classrooms and have children write their own poems about different things that are fictional. I would also use it to teach about drawing with writing and how that enhances writing.
November 23, 2021
Sometimes I wonder if poodles like noodles, do lions use irons? Do you wander too? This book gives the reader an abundance of small poems to expand on their knowledge of rhyming. It also serves as fun read aloud with plenty of colorful illustrations to support the engaging text. It's also a great book to incorporate into a lesson plan to inspire students to create their own poems. Laura's child perspective takes us into a busy day in life, where there are birthdays and holidays and trips to the museum. This allows students to see that poems can be about just about anything. Author of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", Laura will not disappoint!
September 4, 2019
Didn’t hate it. Didn’t love it. It’s all poems
July 15, 2024
If you’re looking for a book of short poems for kiddos this is definitely the book for you!
April 1, 2019
Genre: Poetry - Collection of Poetry
Awards: N/A
Grades: 1-4
A. These poems are mostly limericks, but there are a few that are free verse. They don't have the 1, 2, 5 and 3, 4 pattern, but there is definitely a pattern to it.
B. The author rhymes in a pattern of a, b, c, b in a lot of the poems, but there are also a few a, a, b, b.
C. Make your own poem in the form of a, b, c, b and in the theme of your favorite holiday.
I would love to go
Somewhere new
That may take me
Into the blue.
Awards: N/A
Grades: 1-4
A. These poems are mostly limericks, but there are a few that are free verse. They don't have the 1, 2, 5 and 3, 4 pattern, but there is definitely a pattern to it.
B. The author rhymes in a pattern of a, b, c, b in a lot of the poems, but there are also a few a, a, b, b.
C. Make your own poem in the form of a, b, c, b and in the theme of your favorite holiday.
I would love to go
Somewhere new
That may take me
Into the blue.
April 25, 2019
Genre: Poetry
Collection of Poetry
Awards: none
Audience: Ages 7-10
A. These poems are mostly limericks, there are some that are free verse. They dont have the 1,2,5 and 3,4 pattern, but there is definitely a pattern.
B. The author used a unique rhyme pattern that followed A B C B. This created a different atmosphere for students to look at these poems differently from a typical limerick. It made the poems in my opinion more exciting!
C. Create your own limerick that tells a story. Use the form a, b, c, b.
I would love to see
something new
that may inspire me
to do something new
Collection of Poetry
Awards: none
Audience: Ages 7-10
A. These poems are mostly limericks, there are some that are free verse. They dont have the 1,2,5 and 3,4 pattern, but there is definitely a pattern.
B. The author used a unique rhyme pattern that followed A B C B. This created a different atmosphere for students to look at these poems differently from a typical limerick. It made the poems in my opinion more exciting!
C. Create your own limerick that tells a story. Use the form a, b, c, b.
I would love to see
something new
that may inspire me
to do something new
July 23, 2017
Some of the best illustrations I've seen in a children's book. The poems seemed a little forced. They were lighthearted and sweet though.
November 12, 2014
Sometimes I Wonder If Poodles Like Noodles by Laura Joffe Numeroff is a good book filled with many different poems for young readers. The book is narrated by a little girl who's name is never stated, but yet she takes the reader through a series of different events that she likes to do or describes the people around her. For example, there will be two pages and on one side she will describe her cousin and how she likes to paint, all in a poem, and on the other side she will have a poem about her friend and her freckles. Other pages will be dedicated to talking about her love for cooking on her own or with her father, going to the beach, her costume on Halloween, etc. Each page is a new topic or event that the narrator does in her day to day activities or plans to do. It is a great book if you are starting to teach students on poetry and how the rhythm of the words are supposed to be. The illustrations are bright and creative by using acrylic paints.The only downfall of the book that I personally did not like is the title and the front and back illustrations have to do with poodles and noodles, however, throughout the rest of the book and even the end it is never again mentioned. Which leaves the reader thrown off if they expected a poetry book about poodles and noodles. Yet it is still a great book for students to read and see different examples of poetry and I recommend it to students in 3rd to 5th grade.
February 19, 2014
This is a cute book that includes many poems about the author, Laura Numeroff, when she was a little girl. I like that the poems build on each other and the next poem could include her friend she discussed in a poem earlier in the book. It is also easy to read the book because she goes in an order that categorizes what she likes or is doing. For example, a few pages will be about how she likes to make food and cook with her dad. Another couple pages will be about her getting ready for bed, and finally their are poems about what she is dreaming of. I like that the book goes is a sequence like that rather than jumping all over the place. The illustrations are done by Tim Bowers. He does a great job at capturing what the poems are portraying. I also found it interesting that he lives in central Ohio. I think students would like to look at and read this book because it is very fun and entertaining.
July 17, 2015
The title gave me high expectations for this book, since it sounds a little like Seuss, so one might expect some Seuss-tacular rhyming. "My Wonderful Dream" is one poem in this picture book collection that comes a bit close to capturing that kind of whimsy and delight. But the poems about ordinary events like bedtime, Halloween, bath time, and ice skating are pleasant and the pictures have a warm realism. "When I was Sick in Bed" is one of my favorites, and the picture for it is very cozy, of the little girl in bed with a white cup of tea with pink hearts on the bedside table and piles of books about ships and Abraham Lincoln.
As long as your five year old doesn't delude himself/herself that this is a story that must be read straight through in one sitting, it should make for a decent read-aloud.
As long as your five year old doesn't delude himself/herself that this is a story that must be read straight through in one sitting, it should make for a decent read-aloud.
April 30, 2019
Genre: Poetry- Collection of Poetry
Awards: None
Audience: 7-10 years old
A. Poems are narrative, describing the people, stories, and thoughts that the narrator knows and has.
B. The author uses the poetic element of rhythm to create a consistent syllable count pattern in each of her poems.
C. If you could replace the second and fourth lines of the four-line poem "Spots" with your own two lines of words, but had to make them both end with sounds that rhymed with one another, what would you rewrite the lines to say?
Example: I would rewrite the lines to be: "She likes to play with me" and "taking her to p.e.!". The poem would then read as:
My Dalmatian's name is Sydney.
She likes to play with me.
I think it would be fun to try
Taking her to p.e.!
Awards: None
Audience: 7-10 years old
A. Poems are narrative, describing the people, stories, and thoughts that the narrator knows and has.
B. The author uses the poetic element of rhythm to create a consistent syllable count pattern in each of her poems.
C. If you could replace the second and fourth lines of the four-line poem "Spots" with your own two lines of words, but had to make them both end with sounds that rhymed with one another, what would you rewrite the lines to say?
Example: I would rewrite the lines to be: "She likes to play with me" and "taking her to p.e.!". The poem would then read as:
My Dalmatian's name is Sydney.
She likes to play with me.
I think it would be fun to try
Taking her to p.e.!
April 3, 2010
This is a lovely picture book that will delight children. Each story is told in poetry. Poems such as Sometimes I wonder, Spots, A Story I Like To Tell. All stories are told through the eyes of a young girl. Truth be told, a lot of what she talked about made plenty of sense! One of her poems: My Friend's Freckles
My best friend, Kate, has red hair and freckles.
That covers her cheeks and her nose.
The first time I met her I had to ask:
"Do your freckles go down to your toes?"
This book is recommended for ages 4-8.
My best friend, Kate, has red hair and freckles.
That covers her cheeks and her nose.
The first time I met her I had to ask:
"Do your freckles go down to your toes?"
This book is recommended for ages 4-8.
June 10, 2011
My daughter hated this book. And I agree. Basically because is sucks. It seems like people look at a book, see the name of a big author or an author they've loved in the past, and immediately it's a five star book. What about the content within?
I've been wasting time because I could have amassed millions and millions of dollars by now. I could be up on Oprah level right now if I had realized this in time.
Julia usually will slog through a book if I keep going but this she stopped me and asked me if she can stop with it. I told her yes and thank you.
I've been wasting time because I could have amassed millions and millions of dollars by now. I could be up on Oprah level right now if I had realized this in time.
Julia usually will slog through a book if I keep going but this she stopped me and asked me if she can stop with it. I told her yes and thank you.
November 26, 2019
Genre: Collection of Poetry
Awards: none
Audience: 1-3rd
A. This type of poetry is in narrative form with the author writing about the girls life and places she goes.
B. This book uses rhyme to draw in children's attention, and it is usually the 2nd and 4th line the rhyme.
C. Write your own line that rhymes with the line: Sometimes I wonder do lions use irons, do poodles
eat noodles, can chickens....
Answer: Sometimes I wonder do lions use irons, do poodles eat noodles, can chickens go on expeditions?
Awards: none
Audience: 1-3rd
A. This type of poetry is in narrative form with the author writing about the girls life and places she goes.
B. This book uses rhyme to draw in children's attention, and it is usually the 2nd and 4th line the rhyme.
C. Write your own line that rhymes with the line: Sometimes I wonder do lions use irons, do poodles
eat noodles, can chickens....
Answer: Sometimes I wonder do lions use irons, do poodles eat noodles, can chickens go on expeditions?
June 18, 2012
This poem book is all about being a child and letting your imagination go wild. In this poetry book Numeroff talks about all the things that children love as well as the things that represent being a child for most people; dinosaurs, days at the beach, sleepovers, Halloween, grandparents, and wild dreams.
April 1, 2014
I really enjoy reading this book. It is very entertaining and great for children. It cover many different themes for the classroom. This is a great read when pertaining to poems.
Poem of choice
Spots
My dalmatian's name is Sydney
He's got a million spots.
I think it would be fun to try
Connecting all his dots.
Poem of choice
Spots
My dalmatian's name is Sydney
He's got a million spots.
I think it would be fun to try
Connecting all his dots.
October 9, 2009
This is a great rhyming poetry book by Laura Numeroff, who also wrote "If You Give A Pig A Party", "If You Take A Mouse to School", and "Beatrice Doesn't Want To." As with Laura Numeroff's stories, this collection of poems are quite entertaining for children.
April 23, 2012
This book is full of silly poems. In the poem My Grandma and My Grandpa, the author describes what they do throughout the day. Some of the things they do are very entertaining like playing the banjo. This book would be good to read showing students different types of poems.
April 23, 2009
Cute! We have a poodle, and we like noodles, so it fit. Like the rhymes!
May 24, 2010
Youngest and I giggled over many of these poems.
April 23, 2012
This a a great boom of many different styles of poems. I would use this for 3rd to 5th to show the different ways a poem could be written.
October 3, 2012
Cute simple poetry that will impire students to create their own. Great resource for educators to have handy in the classroom.
June 27, 2016
Good for grades k-3
Read
October 23, 2016This book hasn't won any awards. It is great for grades K-2. This story is full of poems about a young girl and the things she does from her point of view. She goes to trick or treating, sleep overs and birthday parties. It is comical and full of laughter for children. This book is full of color and great poems. This book would be great for a read aloud on the carpet. This book is also full of many kids of poems, its not just about one thing. I would use this book as a read aloud, children would be so into the poems. They would laugh while listening and could come up with their own rhyming words. This could also be good for a fluency activity. The children could practice reading and their speed while rhyming.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews