And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon

 

Book: And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon 

Author: Susan Stevens Crummel 

Illustrator: Janet Stevens 

Genre: Fiction, Poetry 

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Books 

Age Group: Pre-k - 2 

Summary: 

The classic rhyme is being read when all of a sudden, Dish and Spoon end up running away for good! Since the rhyme cannot be read without Dish and Spoon, the Cat, Cow, and Dog go out to try and find them. They come to an actual fork on the road and ask where the pair could have gone and they decide to go west, north, east, and etc. where they cross paths with many characters like Little Boy Blue and Little Miss Muffet. After a scary encounter with the Big Bad Wolf, they find Dish and Spoon falling down the beanstalk leading to Dish being broken to pieces. With a little help from the Jack-of-all-trades, the Dish is put together again and they make it in time to have their rhyme read again, this time the Dish staying home instead of running away with the Spoon. 

Evaluation and Comments: 

And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon is a silly and imaginative book that adds on the classic nursery rhyme and hits us with the dilemma of: what if the dish actually ran away with the spoon? 

Younger children will definitely enjoy reading this book and seeing an extension of this well-known nursery rhyme. It's rhyming coupled with the adventures the characters go through will grab the children's attention and leave them wanting more. Along with that, we get to see these characters interactions with other well-known characters such as Little Miss Muffet, the Big Bad Wolf, Little Boy Blue, and etc. 

A fun little activity the older students can do is that they can create a little comic strip detailing the events that occurred in the book. You could also have the students come up with their own scenario of what they believe would happen if the Dish ran away with the Spoon.  

In conclusion, And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon has my seal of approval! 🥇😄