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Summary
Summary
A mischievous Siamese kitten named Skippyjon Jones transforms himself into the legendary Spanish sword fighter Skippito when he is banished to his room. This hilarious picture book celebrates the power of imagination.
Author Notes
Judith Byron Schachner was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on August 20, 1951. Talented at art from a young age, she graduated in 1973 from the Massachusetts College of Art with a BFA in illustration.
After designing greeting cards for companies including Hallmark and giving birth to two daughters, Schachner wrote and illustrated her first picture book, Willy and May, in 1995. She writes and illustrates the popular Skippyjon Jones series for children about a dynamic Siamese kitten.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-This is a wildly wonderful book about a hyperactive kitten, Skippyjon Jones, whose head and ears are too big for his body, and whose imagination is too intense for his mama. According to her, he needs to do some serious thinking about what it means to be a Siamese cat instead of a bird (Skippyjon always wakes up and eats worms with his feathered friends). She sends him to his room, where he imagines he is a Chihuahua ("My name is Skippito Friskito./I fear not a single bandito"). Chock-full of rhyming chants and Spanish expressions, the feline's adventure as a doggy Zorro ends in chaos. His frazzled mother gives him a hug anyway and says, "Say good night, Skippyjon Jones." "Buenas noches, mis amigos," says the kitten, as he bounces on his bed all ready for another adventure. The buoyant and colorful cartoon illustrations match the exuberant text perfectly. Spanish-speaking children will be especially delighted by the words and humor; others may be a little bewildered by all of the foreign phrases and will need some explanation, but the story definitely has the potential of a fun read-aloud. A good multicultural offering.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The Siamese hero of this caper sleeps in a nest-with the birds-and is convinced that he's really a Chihuahua in disguise, and saves his pals from a giant Bumblebeeto Bandito. Ages 4-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Skippyjon is a young, irrepressible Siamese cat with a vivid imagination. His mother sends him to his room to contemplate what being a cat means, but instead he dons the Zorro-like outfit of his alter-ego, Skippito Friskito, and enters his closet for an adventure. The fiesta-colored pictures add zip, but the humor is heavy-handed and the story tedious. From HORN BOOK Spring 2004, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Skippyjon Jones insists he's not a Siamese cat despite ears too big for his head and a head too big for his body. This rambunctious kitty with an overactive imagination prefers to be El Skippito, a Zorro-like sword fighter. Walking through his closet, he meets a mysterioso band of Chichuahuas called Los Chimichangos. The masked Skippyjon joins them, pretending to be a dog and claiming he loves "mice and beans." The Chimichangos are convinced he will bid adios to the bad bandito Bumblebeeto who steals their frijoles. And yippito, he does. Returning home where Mama Junebug Jones and the girls are waiting--his closet explodes with a birthday piÑata of goodies. This pun-filled spoof is over-the-top comedy littered with Spanish words and "Spanglish" accents (bees-ness). Mama's pet names for Skippyjon--Mr. Kitten Britches, Fluffernutter--add affectionate touches. Colorful, lively illustrations exaggerate the hilarity. No ethnic aspersions intended, just laugh-out-loud humor. Both feline hero and story are full of beans (more Mexican-jumping than pinto) but ay caramba, mucho fun. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
