In the Tall, Tall Grass

by Denise Fleming

If you were a fuzzy caterpillar crawling through the tall, tall grass on a sunny afternoon, what would you see?

To find out, just follow the tiny tour guide as he inches his way through the pages of this book. You'll see ants and bees and birds--hip-hopping bunnies too. You'll even hear the sounds some of them make.

Crunch, munch,
caterpillars lunch...
Crack, snap, wings flap...

Beginning as the sun is high in the sky and ending as fireflies blink and the moon rises above, this backyard tour is one no child will want to miss.

In the Tall, Tall Grass is a 1992 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award Honor Book for Picture Books.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Nature, Storytime, Science, Summer

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 1991

About the author

Denise Fleming has written and illustrated many children’s picture books, including In the Tall, Tall Grass, Shout! Shout It Out!, and Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy. She won a Caldecott Honor for In the Small, Small Pond. Denise creates her colorful illustrations by pouring colored paper pulp through hand-cut stencils. She lives in Toledo, Ohio.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/denise...
http://www.simonandschuster.com/autho...

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

8/30/2024 - I enjoyed the text, but the illustrations left much to be desired. The creatures are drawn quite large, but with little detail. My daughter knows what snakes and frogs are, but said “I don’t know” when I asked her what was in the pictures.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of sound effects and big, bold, clear illustrations.

[ChiChi Obi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for early readers and for parents. Very appealing colors to teach both literacy and numeracy skills. Asking questions after the reading this book will provoke investigative skills in children.

[Nicole Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: This book starts with "in the tall, tall grass" then each page gives sound words and a new critter. The ending is saying good night to the tall grass.
Reflection: I really liked this book. It contains sound words so that will be good for students to act out. It has pictures that make you have to focus on so that will be great building visual literacy.
Use in Class: Great for beginning a bug study for all ages. I don't think this would be a good choice if younger kids were learning text progression because the words are kind-of all over the page.

[Hollie Cooper (EDUC378) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text-to-World connection: This book is a good wat to teach about all the different creatures living in the grass. It teaches to be aware of the world around us, even what we can't see. It's a great springtime book. It's a great starter book for children very young and easy to understand and follow and is exciting with all the different pictures of all the creatures in it. I would have this in a pre-K class setting.

[Geneva Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved the alliteration in this book and its simplistic yet new vocabulary to introduce to young children. This book would be a great introduction to teach children about rhyming words as well as insects and other animals. The illustrations were fun, bright, true to form(of animals) yet unique and kept my toddler and kindergartner's attention as they would ask questions about the animals. This would be a great book to keep in your early childhood classroom for lessons on insects, animals, rhyming and science.

extension- Read the book and to introduce a lesson on the changes of metamorphosis a caterpillar goes through. Have various insects (safe of course) in bug boxes with grass, dirt, or soil you would find insects in outdoors and a magnifying glasses to give children a closer look at them. This could also be used to introduce a lesson on rhyming words.

[Linda (bythebellbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bright and lively exploration of nature through the eyes of a caterpillar. From noon to night, children are taken on a rhythmic journey through a meadow, discovering buzzing bees, darting hummingbirds, and slithering snakes—all while the sun sets. Denise Fleming’s rhythmic, simple text paired with her vivid, textured illustrations make this book perfect for toddlers and young readers. It’s a sensory adventure that invites kids to dive into the world of bugs and critters in the tall, tall grass.

How to Work with This Book:

🎼 Sound Adventure: As you read, ask kids to make the sounds of the creatures. Can they buzz like bees? Flutter like butterflies? This helps them connect with the story and stay engaged while exploring different animals.

🌱 Nature Walk: After reading, take the kids outside to explore their own “tall, tall grass.” What insects or creatures can they find? It’s a great way to bring the book to life and teach them about the world around them.

👏 Rhyming Fun: The book’s rhythmic text makes it a great tool for practicing rhyme. Pause during reading and encourage kids to guess the rhyming word or come up with their own! It’s an easy way to support early literacy skills.

[Morgan Drummond · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Tall, Tall Grass it is all about animals. The text all rhymes which makes its very catchy. Throughout the story you hear about a new animal on each page. The text says what’s sounds it makes and what its body does. All of these animals live in or around the tall grass. This book teaches kids about all the different animals and what sounds they all make. All the sounds are different. The illustrations in this book are wonderful. The colors really pop. There are multiple of each animal on each page so you could get the audience your reading too answers questions about the colors and how many animals there are. This book is for younger kids because it is teaching about sounds and what different animals look like. The book flows because of the rhyming and it ends happily with saying goodnight to all the animals. I would recommend this as a read aloud book for younger classes because it can be made into an interactive activity about animals.

[Donisha McCarter · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Tall, Tall Grass is a children's poetry book written by Denise Fleming's this poetry book has won various Awards such as the ALA Award, a notable children's Book in 1991, the master readings list for Maryland black-eyed Susan Book Award, 1993 and 1994 star reviews from book list and Horn magazine. This book is available free on YouTube for a read-aloud in the tall tall grass and is about animals/insects and different types of creatures in the natural world. Denise uses poetry to show the characteristics of the animals and insects the word choice she uses by sounding words such as cracks and hums contribute to the creatures. The illustrations are captivating as they use such vibrant colors to picture the world and nature in harmony. Young children would enjoy this book since it follows the story of the natural world.

[Amita Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is bright, and has attractive illustrations that go well with simple rhyming. It has very appealing colors to teach both literacy and numeracy skills. I think that children will love counting and identifying the various animals and bugs throughout the book. I really loved the alliteration in this book. This book would be a great introduction to teach children about rhyming words as well as insects and other animals. The book is filled with rhyming and onomatopoeia words. The language is simplistic and at the same time has new vocabulary to introduce to young children. It’s a great book for early readers and for parents.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found out about this book through one of Jbrary's lists (https://jbrary.com/diverse-storytime-...) on diverse books by Lindsey Krabbenhoft. It is great that the boy depicted in the story has dark skin, but he is only on one page. (It would be great if we saw the boy more than once!)

The rest of the book tells the simple story of what a child would find in the tall, tall grass (i.e. "crunch, munch, catepillars lunch". Lots of fun words to read aloud, large bold text, and colourful pictures would make this a good book to read for toddler story time.

[Madison Powell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry (Single Poem Book)
Awards: NA
Audience: Pre-School through 2nd grade
A. This is a narrative poem because it takes the reader through the experience of a caterpillar crawling around on the dirt. Along the way, the reader runs into many other animal and insect friends.
B. The author uses onomatopoeia on almost every page. For example, page two says, "Crunch, munch, caterpillars lunch.
C. Create a sound that the caterpillar might hear that is not already in the book. What animal or insect is that sound connected to?
Answer: huff huff hedgehogs puff.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious language in this one. Lots of nice rhymes, flowing alliterative text, onomatopoeia, and a consistent pattern make for a delightful read aloud. We enjoyed that each page features a different animal and action, and many of the animals were some who are less commonly seen in picture books for young kids, such as the mole. A fun activity would be to imitate the different action words for each animal, sliding, creeping, etc. A great mentor texts for many different types of language and “spicing up” a story with rich word choice.

[Shamaa Farah · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Tall, Tall Grass would be an excellent book for kids to read. It Is age appropriate, and offers a lot of illustrations and pictures. This book catches at the attention of younger kids by allowing them to make animal noises as they read along. The bold colors also allows the book to retain the young children's attention. The rhythm and rhyme that flows through the book also engages students and makes them want to read along. This book has a happy ending which is what makes it a good book for kids to read.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little tikes will enjoy the sounds that the animals make!

Ages: 1 - 3

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[Brandice Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book does not have a lot of words, but the words that it does have are good words that would be new to some children. This is also a well-illustrated book. I like the colors and the different bugs and animals in this book as well. This book though would be more for children under 3 I think personally. It again does not have a lot of words, there is some rhyming and the words that they do have in the book are some good ones for young learners.

[Makenzie VanderHorst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love that this book is a little larger size. This book is a big hit during my spring themes. I like the description words used throughout the book to elaborate more with the kids. I love that it's from a caterpillar's point of view, the creatures that live and act in the tall, tall grass -- hummingbirds, bees, birds, ants, snakes, moles, beetles, frogs, bunnies, fireflies and bats -- as the book takes us through day and into the night.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book filled with rhyming and onomatopoeia words. The young children can be enjoy because words are big and very few. It use in science center to introduce creatures that live in the grass and their food. Also, It has good vocabulary and sounds to reflect natural world of bugs, animals and grass.

[Sterlande Altidor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a classic; a lot of parents know it by heart, because their parents use to read it to them. Children will love reading this book, because of the colorful photos. I think that children will love counting and identifying the various animals and bugs throughout the book. This book is bright, and has attractive illustrations that complement simple rhyming.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book filled with rhyming and onomatopoeia words. The young children can be enjoy because words are big and very few. It use in science center to introduce creatures that live in the grass and their food. Also, It has good vocabulary and sounds to reflect natural world of bugs, animals and grass.

[Magaly Almario · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for science lesson as it talks about everything that happens in the tall grass. It also present rhyming words in a fun way..."Bees hum...strum, drum". To my the best is part about this book is the illustrations they are so colorful and live. The one down side of this book is that there is no moral to the story and therefore the end /conclusion seems rushed.

[Stephanie Ewanciw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun and easy read for students to learn new vocabulary based on insets/nature. It would be great for teaching sound matching to children, an introduction lesson on alliteration and also can be used to teach rhyming words/new science vocabulary. The pictures are fun and colorful. Ages 4-8.

[Morgan Renouf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book uses rhyming and onomatopoeias to tell about the many things that go on outdoors. With little words and big pictures, I think this book is better for young children who are just beginning to read. Teachers can use this to discuss different animals they see and noises they hear when outside.

[Kaleb Beaulieu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for engaging early readers with various sounds and creatures found out in tall grass. It is simple and fast, and can be used during learning experiences centered around local wildlife or habitats. It could even be used when talking about what children have done while they are on vacation or away from school on breaks.

[Jewel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very colorful book that can motivate children to go and explore the outdoors. In terms of vocabulary the book is full of alliteration and rhyming words. These words can be used to show children that some words can become new words just by changing the first letter and they can try to think of some words themselves. I would recommend this book for children ages four and five years old.

[Josefina Bustos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Animal behaviors are interesting to explore. This book uses rhyming words to describe those behaviors. It draws the attention of the reader by using onomatopoeia. It uses the strategy to make learning sounds and behaviors of the animals easy. It also gives children a basis for what to listen for when they are outside exploring animal sounds.

[Ashley Wannenburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book, In the Tall, Tall Grass, written by Denise Fleming was an amazing book, which I enjoyed every second of it. The book included good illustrations, was child friendly, as was very easy to read along with. It is also a good book to teach children counting as well as helping them sound out the words. The book also is bright with lots of colors.

[Shaquira DesDune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute book. The author uses alliteration throughout this book when describing the sounds the different animals are making. I especially enjoyed the illustrations, very bold colors used. After reading this book children can go outside and search for the different insects that are seen throughout the book.

[Chiquita wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the tall, tall grass is a great book to teach children about insects. This book has a lot of wonderful colorful illustration and it’s an easy read for children to grab. Adventures await for all age groups with this story of play in the grass as a young child discovering the outdoors and using their imaginations to have fun.

[Darrie McCain Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like books that rhyme and this book does a good job with that. It uses different words to describe what is heard while walking through the grass. I would have the my children say the rhymes with me, this is a short book and hopefully they will be able to remember the words. I like short books that are clever and memorable.