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Apples and Oranges: Going Bananas with Pairs
Presents pairs of related items, such as an apple and an orange or a bicycle and a motorcycle, and asks why they are similar, while offering unexpected answers.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published December 26, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
April 16, 2012
This is one of the weirdest books I've seen in a while. It's sort of a one-joke book. I read it aloud to a group of 2nd graders the other day just to see how they'd react, and I think I can predict how it might go for you. Kind of like this....
First page: How are an apple and an orange alike?
Stop here and get kids to answer. They'll have good answers, like they're both fruits, you eat them both, they grow on trees.
Turn the page and read, "They both don't wear glasses."
Kids: "HUH??"
Read the next line: How are a bicycle and a motorcycle alike? Again, kids will give you good, logical answers (for the most part).
Turn the page and read, "They both don't work in a bank."
Kids: "WHAT?! That's stupid!"
And continue on in this manner.
I think my kids got a little tired of it after 5 or 6 spreads. If the ending had been really clever it might've made up for it, but it wasn't. Instead, they just rolled their eyes and made equally illogical guesses. Some of them had a little fun with it, but most of them were slightly annoyed, I think.
At first I had hoped this book would be good for encouraging out-of-the-box thinking, but it really isn't. There is no "right" answer for any of the questions, so it's not like they can figure anything out. Basically, any answer other than the obvious is right. It's a lot like Cliff Claven on Jeopardy: Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?" Exactly, Cliff. Exactly.
First page: How are an apple and an orange alike?
Stop here and get kids to answer. They'll have good answers, like they're both fruits, you eat them both, they grow on trees.
Turn the page and read, "They both don't wear glasses."
Kids: "HUH??"
Read the next line: How are a bicycle and a motorcycle alike? Again, kids will give you good, logical answers (for the most part).
Turn the page and read, "They both don't work in a bank."
Kids: "WHAT?! That's stupid!"
And continue on in this manner.
I think my kids got a little tired of it after 5 or 6 spreads. If the ending had been really clever it might've made up for it, but it wasn't. Instead, they just rolled their eyes and made equally illogical guesses. Some of them had a little fun with it, but most of them were slightly annoyed, I think.
At first I had hoped this book would be good for encouraging out-of-the-box thinking, but it really isn't. There is no "right" answer for any of the questions, so it's not like they can figure anything out. Basically, any answer other than the obvious is right. It's a lot like Cliff Claven on Jeopardy: Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?" Exactly, Cliff. Exactly.
May 24, 2018
As a lover of weird, surrealist humor, this book was right up my alley. I got a huge kick out of the offbeat jokes and bizarro illustrations, such as an armadillo performing dental work or an eggplant riding carnival rides.
Humane families note: There is a scene set a rodeo.
Humane families note: There is a scene set a rodeo.
March 24, 2008
I probably liked this book because my one of my favorite jokes is this:
What do a peanut and a bicycle have in common? Neither one can play the piano! HA!
A pair of items with something obvious (but not stated) in common is shown: an apple and an orange (fruits), a starfish and an octopus (live in the ocean), pants and underwear (clothes, duh!). Each pair is followed by a depiction of what ELSE they have in common: they don't wear glasses, or work in a bank, or knit.
I read this in storytime and while the preschoolers had a little trouble catching on to the concept of figuring out what was the same about the items, once they did, they found the book quite funny. The final two pages depict a group of people, and readers are asked what they have in common. The answer starts "we both don't..." with no ending given.
One young boy in my group thought for moment, and then came up with this answer: "We both don't eat chinchillas!"
It's true! We don't!
What do a peanut and a bicycle have in common? Neither one can play the piano! HA!
A pair of items with something obvious (but not stated) in common is shown: an apple and an orange (fruits), a starfish and an octopus (live in the ocean), pants and underwear (clothes, duh!). Each pair is followed by a depiction of what ELSE they have in common: they don't wear glasses, or work in a bank, or knit.
I read this in storytime and while the preschoolers had a little trouble catching on to the concept of figuring out what was the same about the items, once they did, they found the book quite funny. The final two pages depict a group of people, and readers are asked what they have in common. The answer starts "we both don't..." with no ending given.
One young boy in my group thought for moment, and then came up with this answer: "We both don't eat chinchillas!"
It's true! We don't!
October 11, 2008
i'm torn...feel as if i should love it but my vision of incorporating it into a group setting is one of terror. sigh.
January 6, 2010
Awful, awful, awful. Or, maybe I have no sense of humor.
September 11, 2017
There is an incredibly high chance I did not understand this book, which is why I only rated it two stars. I read some of the other reviews to see if maybe I had missed something and I took from them, that each page consists of a pun, and maybe I'm just dense or not focusing on the jokes enough to get them, but if I can't understand them right of way, elementary schoolers are certainly not going to be able to either. I also really thought it was going to be a book about fruit, which by the way, it is not and that disappointed me.
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June 17, 2022This book of pairs compare lots of unrelated items and find funny similarities. It was either written by an early elementary child or a parent of one. Many of these ridiculous but funny comparisons could have come straight out of my kids' joke telling.
March 13, 2017
Too old of humor for my toddler, she definitely didn't get the joke, but liked to point out objects that she knew.
October 15, 2017
Lots of adult answers. Not sure if little children may understand. Silly answers? C+
May 31, 2024
Prompt conversation about similarities then giggles about illustrated punchlines
June 14, 2012
Not at all what you expect! Most excellent! Even the title is a fun play on words - pairs or pears? Both my two-year-old girl and five-year-old boy laugh hysterically when we read this book. Sure I ham it up a bit for them and help them understand some of the more subtle jokes, like the expressions on the old ladies faces who are sitting next to the women wearing pants and underwear on their heads, but that is part of the joy of sharing books and reading together. The illustrations are marvelous. In the first presentation of the objects to be compared they are very simple and sweet; I particularly love the bird and the bunny. Then in the second presentation of the objects they are detailed and hilarious. I just love them! The first time through the book my five-year-old son was able to come up with great similarities for each of the object pairs, a great exercise in and of itself, but then we would turn the page and get an alternative similarity that no one would think of on their own, also a great exercise because it stretches the mind and the imagination. And really, what could be funnier to a four or five year old child than a woman wearing underwear on her head, or (my personal favorite) a fork and spoon wearing tutus. I would definitely recommend this book for preschoolers and early grade-schoolers.
July 14, 2012
“How are an apple and an orange alike?”
Did you say they were both fruits? No. Foods? No. From trees? No. They both don’t wear glasses! So begins this book of illustrated offbeat and quirky riddles. Each page shows a pair of items, such as a bike and a motorcycle, a spoon and a fork, and a bird and a kite, that have an obvious connection. But turn the page and you’ll find the answer to the riddle isn’t exactly what you had guessed it would be.
The text in this book is presented in a straightforward pattern: riddle, answer, riddle, answer. Each answer is always something that the objects or animals don’t do. The watercolor and ink illustrations follow the same pattern. First, the two items in the riddle are shown against a simple background. Turn the page to see an illustration of the two objects/animals doing the ridiculous things the riddle says they don’t do. My favorite is the picture of the cupcake and ice cream cone scuba diving. The book ends with an open ended riddle: “How are you and I alike? We both don’t…” which encourages the reader to answer the riddle on their own.
Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
Did you say they were both fruits? No. Foods? No. From trees? No. They both don’t wear glasses! So begins this book of illustrated offbeat and quirky riddles. Each page shows a pair of items, such as a bike and a motorcycle, a spoon and a fork, and a bird and a kite, that have an obvious connection. But turn the page and you’ll find the answer to the riddle isn’t exactly what you had guessed it would be.
The text in this book is presented in a straightforward pattern: riddle, answer, riddle, answer. Each answer is always something that the objects or animals don’t do. The watercolor and ink illustrations follow the same pattern. First, the two items in the riddle are shown against a simple background. Turn the page to see an illustration of the two objects/animals doing the ridiculous things the riddle says they don’t do. My favorite is the picture of the cupcake and ice cream cone scuba diving. The book ends with an open ended riddle: “How are you and I alike? We both don’t…” which encourages the reader to answer the riddle on their own.
Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
August 1, 2008
This isn't a quick, flip-through book. The full effect comes from reading it aloud with a small child who will love to answer the questions before turning the page. Each page spread has either a question or an answer, beginning with asking how two similar items (such as a bird and a kite) are alike. The answer follows after turning the page (birds and kites both don't talk on the phone). Each of the pairings is set up like this: a question that the child can answer, followed by an inane answer that will probably make the child laugh.
Whatever you do, don't rush through the book! The silly answers aren't very good on their own, without input from the reader before each page turn.
Whatever you do, don't rush through the book! The silly answers aren't very good on their own, without input from the reader before each page turn.
March 25, 2015
This will send the younger students laughing so much they’ll fall off their chairs. Sara Pinto has crafted some wonderful pairs, but the expectation will surprise everyone. Once they get going, who knows what the children will guess! There are lovely brightly-colored drawings, for example, of a cupcake and an ice cream cone. The author asks, “How are a cupcake and an ice cream cone alike?” And of course, one might say, they’re both sweet, or desserts, or ? But when the page is turned, the answer, and funny picture, is “They both don’t scuba dive.” Very cute, will start lots of comparing conversations about all the pairs and what they "don't" do.
February 29, 2008
I found this quite amusing. My 5-year-old didn't find it as funny as my 10-year-old did. I think this book will have difficulty finding an audience because it's a picture book, but is really for elementary school aged kids. It asks the reader how two things are alike (apples and oranges), but doesn't give an obvious answer (they're fruit). When you turn the page, you find that they both don't wear glasses. My 5-year-old didn't really get the joke until halfway through the book and then, rather than finding it clever, she grew frustrated that she couldn't guess what outlandish thing came next.
February 12, 2010
The concept of this one at first was hard for my 4 yr old to grasp. Each pair of pages asks "What's the same about apples and oranges?" and immediately he said, "No, different". I had to coax and answer for the first few, although the author made all the similarities goofy things like "They don't wear glasses". We had fun coming up with things that we didn't do at the end and he insisted on staying up to "read" it to himself one more time.
October 11, 2011
Very funny book. Two things are presented with something obvious in common, and then something funny that they also have in common is shown. The second characteristic, while true, is outrageous, and that is where the humor comes in. Little kids won't get the jokes, but preschoolers will start to appreciate the silliness. I was really impressed how Pinto just nails each joke coming up with the exact right idea to make it the most funny.
August 1, 2008
After the 5th or so pair, I felt like screaming, "Yes, I GET IT!" Whatever similarities the "pair" has, they "both don't" do something outlandish for the nature of the pair. The something else is so random, though. It can be anything, free association without real thoughts or connections in some way conceptually. It really drives me bananas!
July 19, 2011
26 months - I pretty much ignored the authors text and we used the book as a fun way to talk about similarities and differences. If you spend time talking about how the items are similar and then say ".... and do they both wear glasses?" I found my two year old got the humor and loved saying "NO!" followed by "That's silly!".
June 27, 2011
It was fun to read this book with Jordan and have her brainstorm the common bonds between each of their items, BUT I think she missed out on the humor a bit. She laughed because I believe she knew she was SUPPOSED to think it was funny, but I don't think she completely understood why. Good practice for her, though.
December 7, 2010
I thought this was more fun than Andrew did...He didn't get the "apples and oranges don't wear glasses" thing because there was a picture of the apple and orange wearing glasses. This would be more fun for someone in the 4-6 age range, I think. But I thought it was funny.
January 12, 2012
This could be a great book to get the other obvious reason why the items are similar
Presents pairs of related items, such as an apple and an orange or a bicycle and a motorcycle, and asks why they are similar, while offering unexpected answers.
Presents pairs of related items, such as an apple and an orange or a bicycle and a motorcycle, and asks why they are similar, while offering unexpected answers.
March 6, 2008
Toddlers and preschoolers will not really get this. On the other hand, big kids will get the joke and enjoy the silliness.
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May 22, 2008We heard this book at story time at our local library.
June 29, 2008
My daughter loves this book. It's fanastically silly, and perfect for kids.
September 16, 2008
Excellent for early elementary discussion and writing prompts:
"How are an apple and an orange alike?
They both don't wear glasses."
"How are an apple and an orange alike?
They both don't wear glasses."
December 11, 2008
JP Very funny comparisons of things that are and aren't alike. When reading with kids, make them say how the 2 items really are alike on each page. For younger elem.
December 21, 2008
A funny read- with silly comparisons and illustrations...I can just picture my son cracking up at the picture of underpants on a lady's head...what can I say?...
May 8, 2009
It made me think a lot about similes and metaphors. It also made me laugh!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews