Soap! Soap! Don't Forget the Soap!: An Appalachain Folktale

by Tom Birdseye, Andrew Glass (Illustrator)

A forgetful boy gets himself into trouble when he repeats what each person he meets on the road says to him.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Folk Tales, Juvenile, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1993

About the author

I grew up in North Carolina and Kentucky, an ardent fan of anything that smacked of sports, crawdads, mud balls, forts built in the woods, secret codes, bicycles without fenders, butter pecan ice cream, and snow. I was, however, decidedly uninterested in writing-or any academic aspect of school, for that matter-never imagining that at the age of thirty-five I would become a published author. And yet after two unrelated college degrees, a year living in Japan, and ten years of teaching experience, that is what happened. Life, it seems, is full of who'd-a-thought-its.

I live in Corvallis, Oregon, with my wife, Debbie. Our two daughters, Kelsey and Amy, are both off on their own, living and working in Portland. When not writing, working at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in creative writing, or in classrooms talking with children and teachers about the writing process, I enjoy rock climbing, alpine ascents, scaling big trees, ski mountaineering, snowshoeing, backpacking, mountain biking, running, playing the string bass, and reading.

Even after many books published and awards won, at times it still amazes me that writing is my profession. It was such a difficult process for me when I was a kid; I can really identify with the reluctant writer in school today. Everything seemed to get in the way of my completing stories: from being left-handed, to my poor spelling skills, from punctuation woes, to especially a lack of ideas. Fortunately, the right people came along at the right time and helped me see past the hurdles, emphasizing instead the joy of the work and the satisfaction to be had in trying to uncover the important truths that can come out of fiction. Now I carry a small notebook at all times and am always on the lookout for material I can use in a story: ordinary people that would make good characters, the funny, telling, or poignant glimpses of life that are triggered by what I see and hear, and the wonderfully wise things people will say at the most unexpected times.

True, I still labor through my stories, wrestling with the spelling beast and the punctuation monster, writing and rewriting, then rewriting some more, until I glean my best, but the process has become one of pleasure instead of pain. I love doing it, and I love sharing it with others. The boy who couldn't imagine himself a writer, now can't imagine himself anything else.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plug Honeycutt, a good-hearted young boy with a terrible memory, is dispatched by his fond mother to the store in this humorous Appalachian folktale, with strict instructions not to forget the soap. A series of unfortunate encounters along the way - each ending in disaster when Plug's chanting reminder to himself leads to misunderstanding - leave him in more need than ever of that all-important soap!

With an engaging narrative that just begs to be read aloud, and appealing, colorful illustrations that accentuate the humor of the tale, Soap! Soap! Don't Forget the Soap! would make an ideal storytime selection. I had a strong sense of recognition, when looking at Andrew Glass's artwork, but can't call to mind any of his titles that I might have read. Leaving that aside, this was a delightful picture-book, one I highly recommend to any readers with an interest in Appalachian folklore!

[Deevena Jemima · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun story!

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

RATHER LONG....juvenile fiction folktale about Plug Honeycutt who is so forgetful he can't even remember his name when people call out to him, but when his mother tasks him with going to town to buy soap, he goes on a long journey, encountering colorful characters on the way, and after a long tiring day, he may just remember, "Don't forget the soap"

I really really wanted to like this one.

I feel like if the book were abbreviated more, it would be a great read aloud.

Show Me Winner

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its a rather long Children's books and quite wordy with words that many children may be unfamiliar with. Such as: Brambles and hotfooted.
It's not a funny book, not a lot of action, the illustrations are okay, but not eye catching at all. Would be a book to include for story time during a folk-tales unit.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the progression of events as Plug tried to remember what he needed at the store. Too many words for my 4s and 5s though, and I don't think they understood what he was saying to each new person on the scene and what made it funny. Maybe would be better for 1st grade and up.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for our current life. Soap 🧼 Soap 🧼 Done forget the Soap 🧼 perfect book to make it through the CoronaVirus lock down.

[Ashley Moser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. I like the pictures. Would be good during folktales unit and reading with an accent. It is a wee bit long though.

[Kathleen Whitaker]

The book "Soap! Soap! Don't Forget the Soap!" retold by Tom Birdseye is an Appalalachian Folktale about a young man with a very weak memory. He tries hard but life is a challenge. His mother sends him on an errand and tells him not to forget his task which he says he will not forget. As he travels on this errand he encounters a variety of events that causes him to loose focus of his goal because he repeats what each person he meets on the road says to him. But in the end it all worked out. I particularly loved the demonstrations of "motherly love" shown in the story.
This book is a "Goldent Sower Award" winner, and it is suitable for boys and girls in Kindergarten thru 2nd grade. Some students might find it funny, other students might enjoy conversations about the different people that Plug encountered.

[Nausheen Ukani]

Plug seems to always have trouble remembering things, and when his mother sends him to go to the store to buy soap, he has quite the adventure on the way as he meets with many different people. It's a very cute story, and I think it would be best to use as a resource for Pre-K through 1st grade. It has very fun and engaging pictures that will have the students eyes glued to the story, and it's also a wonderful way to teach students about appropriate and inappropriate things to say to other people. It can teach students about manners and respect, but most of all, it will be a fun book to have in the classroom! Students are guaranteed to love this story one way or another! I would even try to get an oral reading of the book somewhere online that the students can listen to.

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another noodlehead book whose humor didn't quite catch on with the kindergarten class. One or two kids were laughing out loud, but the others were just quietly listening with some commentary. Not overly enthusiastic, but again, this group might just not have the humor or context for a folktale like this.

Personally, I'm not a fan of noodlehead stories where characters are beaten and bruised for their mistakes. Poor Plug just gets tossed this way and that by all sorts of people before remembering the soap. I understand it's Appalachian humor, and like the kids, I might not be receptive to it.

Illustrations were beautiful, though, and it could definitely be used in a folklore unit or noodlehead stories unit.

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book as a kids. It is about a very forgetful boy named Plug Honeycut. His mother sends his to town to get some soap and he has a hard time remembering what to get. He crosses many people on his trip to town and instead of remembering about the soap he copies everything the people he runs by say to him. This gets Plug into some trouble. You can't help feel sorry for him. In the end Plug remembers to get the soap and brings it back to his mom just in time for bath time. This book has a lot of repetition which is great for read aloud. The pictures are also pretty outstanding!

[Shamilah Gillani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think many students will be able to relate to this book as students are so forgetful! The story is about a young boy named Plug who goes to the story to buy some soap because his mom sent him. But while he is there, he forgets to get the soap and begins talking to many people. I would use this book in a younger elementary classroom to teach students about etiquette with people and how they should carry conversations. Also use it to teach manners, and most of all, for fun! Students can read this to themselves and get some practice reading out loud.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Appalachian Folktale about a young boy who is very forgetful. His mother sends him to the store to buy some soap. As he goes along, he runs into different folks. As he's repeating things from previous encounters, he offends them and gets into more and more trouble. Finally, he remembers his soap. He gets home, gets a bath, and everything is fine. The illustrations are very colorful and detailed. I'm not sure what the author's message is, but I'm curious to see what my fifth grade students think it is.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Soap! Soap! Don't forget the Soap!" is the phrase that a forgetful little boy tells himself on his way to buy soap for his mother. He encounters several different mishaps that cause him to forget, but each time, something reminds him of soap. It's a great way to show students how important our memory is. Also, it can show students how we learn from our own very own failures the best. This book is best suited for young children prior to middle school ages.

[Jessica Starzyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much, it was a childhood favorite of mine. This book has humorous characters that find themselves in unique scenarios. The illustrations really complement the story and help immerse the reader into the book. This could be a good book to use to teach about sequencing or misunderstandings!

I think this book is best for second grade, however I could see this book being enjoyed by any elementary grade.
The genre is Traditional Literature

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing picture book of an Appalachian folktale about a boy who forgets absolutely everything. When his mother sends him to the store for soap, he remembers "Don't forget the soap!" until his adventures cause him some memory problems.
Fun colored pencil and watercolor drawings add to the humorous effect. For children ages 4-8.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are fun, but the series of problems for Plug, a young boy with a very poor memory, become frustrating when he is punished each time for remembering the previous lesson that ironically causes him trouble in the next situation. There is a happy ending when he remembers to get the soap his mother originally sent him to get.

[Keegan Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

My almost-four-year-old loves this book. We just got in from the library last week and often he's had me read it more than once a day. I enjoy the dialect-- I think that's something fairly new to him. The series of events is fun and the fact that Plug Honeycut comes through in the end and improves is nice too.

[Tasasha Battle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can help students practice their skills is using context clues to figure out what is coming next in the story. Plug is sent to the story by his mama is get some soap; on the other hand, Plug is the most forgetfulness boy is town. He is encountered with people on his travel that causes him to forget what his mama told him to get from the store.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can see where this is probably fun... maybe it caught us on the wrong day. I wasn't super excited about it while reading it and my girls never asked to read it again. Parts made them giggle but it just wasn't for us.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story isn't particularly funny and it doesn't have a lot of action; it just kind of is. Poor Plug forgets everything and runs into a whole heap of trouble because of it. This book could be used to teach cause and effect.

[Charity · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was teaching 4th and 5th grade, this was my ABSOLUTE favorite book to read aloud to them. I'm teaching 3rd grade next year but I think I'll start them early and read it to them too!

*11 years later this remains a favorite read-aloud. (-:

[Chelsi Ham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really funny book that kids love. A good one to use to teach about appropriate and unappropriate things to say to other people.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is our favorite book to read aloud! The kids both get into saying the catch phrases and it's just fun to read.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new fave kids book!

[Hira · Rating 5 out of 5]

sound words

[Danielle Monroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book is funny and repetitive, it stereotypes people from North Carolina as hillbillies.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

My family and I love this book and have read it many, many times!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

[Rhett Baerlocher]

Illustrations-colored pencils
Washington Schilderns Choice Picture Book Award 1996

Plug is a forgetful little boy and the whole town knows he is a little slow. One day his mother asked him to go get some soap so he said to himself soap! Soap! Don't Forget the soap! and went on his way. On the way to get soap he runs into different people and Plug accidentally makes them mad by repeating what the last person said to him because he can't remember what his mother told him.

Funny story with great pictures