Drip, Drop! (I Can Read Book Series)

ANNOTATION

Pip Squeak the mouse is kept awake all night by the drips from his leaky roof.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Drip! Drop!
Plip! Plop!
"Oh, no!"
cried Pip Squeak.
"I've got a leak!"

A nighttime rainstorm sends Pip Squeak scrambling to catch the drips pouring through his leaky roof. But the drops just won't stop, and soon it's wetter inside the house than out!

Sarah Weeks's spirited story and Jane Manning's dazzling pictures will delight beginning readers as they follow Pip Squeak's comic adventure to the very last drop!

FROM THE CRITICS

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-Poor Pip Squeak, a long-nosed, beady-eyed mouse, can't sleep because his roof is leaking. As he lies in bed, first a drip hits him on his head, then his foot, and then his chin until his bed is covered with pots and pans. As the leaks multiply, the water fills all of his containers from tub to shoe, from hat to glass, until finally the weary rodent's home is nearly submerged. Just as he hangs his head in defeat, the sun comes out and the drips stop as suddenly as they started. While his friends now want to jump in puddles, Pip just wants to jump back in bed. Rhyming text and the repetition of a couple of key phrases ("Drip! Drop!/Plip! Plop!") make this title effective as a beginning reader. Short, simple sentences keep the action moving along while a single problem focuses readers' attention. The snappy narrative is coupled with expressive, silly illustrations. With a smooth wash of color, these bright and flowing cartoons create a sense of growing disorder. Pip, with his orange-and-yellow striped pajamas, loose sagging bathrobe, and enormous mousy ears, is an endearing character who gamely battles the growing tide with "Cat in the Hat" ingenuity. It is thus surprising that he gives up the fight and even more puzzling that he chooses to jump back in bed (where did all the water go?). Yet, as he contentedly dreams of cheese, readers can't help but smile at his well-earned sleep.-Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Kirkus Reviews

Weeks continues her watery-themed flow of beginning readers (Splish, Splash!, not reviewed) with this entry in the I Can Read Book series. A charmingly domesticated rodent named Pip Squeak is struggling with that perplexing problem every homeowner dreads: the drips and drops and plips and plops of a leaky roof in a major rainstorm. Poor Pip Squeak is ready to snooze in yellow-striped pajamas and dapper bathrobe, longing to rest his head on his pillow printed with slices of Swiss cheese. Instead, he spends his entire night racing from one dripping leak to another, using every available container to catch the drops. The story is told in simple, short sentences with repeating phrases, picture clues, and a variety of simple rhyme schemes that help new readers predict the text. The straightforward but amusing story and large, clear illustrations also make Drip, Drop an appropriate choice for a group story session for preschoolers, perhaps for a thematic story hour focusing on mice or water. Manning's (Cindy Ellen, p. 636, etc.) droll illustrations use a contemporary palette of mango and lavender, with lots of light blue raindrops, and she fashions an appealing personality for the unfortunate mouse, who finally gets to nap in the morning when the sun comes up. It's hard to create a strong easy reader that works as both a teaching tool and an effective picture book, but Pip Squeak has the muscle to carry it off. A solid choice for the easy reader shelves in both public and school libraries. (Junior Library Guild selection) (Easy reader. 4-7)