Jake Johnson: The Story of a Mule

We love Jake Johnson: The Story of a Mule so much I'm not sure where to begin. The illustrations are superb! Marsha Gray Carrington uses dazzling blues, yellows and greens, which captures kids attention, and creates a cheerful mood. The tone of the book is nutty, and so are Carrington's paintings. The characters are exaggerated, plus the scale, and perspective are off, which plays into the theme. By far the silliest character is Jake. He is depicted as a big, lump on the lawn. He has buckteeth, and stubby whiskers that go every which way. Mrs. Puckett is a sight to behold as well. She wears brightly colored housedresses, and her orange hair is styled in a funky twirling beehive. Tres Seymour has a gift for telling a yarn without too much gobbledygook. Her words flow from page to page with ease. There are several places in the text where the reader can accentuate their voice for emphasis, which I love. Making noises, and changing accents when reading children's books really encourages the love for reading. Jake Johnson: The Story of a Mule is a very enjoyable read. One is which we haven't tired of these past few weeks following the 4th of July holiday!

I work at a library and we came across this book. It is very cute and funny, his facial expressions are the best! Made us chuckle for a few days!-

A very humorous story accompanied by marvelous illustrations. Great sense of design. Children will want to hear this story read again and again!