It's Simple, Said Simon

Random House Children’s Books • 2014 • 40 pages • ISBN: 978-0-307-79313-3

illustrated by Meilo So

One day, a boy goes out for a walk. He encounters a dog, a cat, and a horse. The dog dares him to growl, the cat dares him to stretch, and the horse dares him to jump. “It’s simple,” says Simon. Then he meets a tiger, who challenges him to all three dares, with increasing difficulty. Will the boy best the tiger, or the tiger best the boy?

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Reviews

Booklist

“While on a walk, a little boy named Simon meets a dog, a cat, and a horse, each of whom presents him with a challenge. Can he bark like a dog? Can he stretch like a cat? Can he jump like a horse? "It's simple," says Simon, who's more than up to the tasks. But when he meets a tiger, Simon almost meets his match ...”

—Shelley Townsend Hudson, American Library Association.

School Library Journal

“... Hoberman has lots of fun with her contemporary, suntanned Simon as he plays his topsy-turvy game of "Simple Simon Says." So's unfussy ink-and-watercolor images wriggle playfully to life on speckled Indian rice paper. Great for reading aloud and acting out.”

—Catherine T. Quattlebaum, DeKalb County Public Library, Atlanta, GA

Publishers Weekly

“... Hoberman's (A House Is a House for Me) text borrows devices used by familiar fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters with plenty of repeated phrases and actions. But Simon so effortlessly outmaneuvers the tiger that the outcome doesn't come as a surprise. Nonetheless, So's swirls of color and animated black lines, her deliciously sly tiger and the varied design of the spreads and end papers all provide a sense of energy and excitement."

Amazon Review

“... Mary Ann Hoberman's clever story, terrific for read-aloud, has all the elements of a classic fable: a cunning, dangerous animal, an appealing, confident hero, a battle of wits, and a thoroughly satisfying conclusion."