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When They Are Up...
No one knows who originally penned this traditional English verse, whose French origins referred to Louis XIV. But Maggee Spicer and her husband, popular children's author and entertainer Richard Thompson, have turned the familiar nursery rhyme upside down in this charming version.
The Grand old Duke of York has many soldiers eager to do his bidding. And in this romping tale they dutifully go up, down-and neither-up-nor-down-as ordered. But although these soldiers have obviously been trained to march, they have little discipline and no sense of decorum. No matter where they happen to be on the hill, they might decide to stop for a game of chess or tag...or even catch armadillos in bags. Other times they cheat at card games, then they play fair...sometimes they even wrestle grizzly bears, or dress up in silly suits, or play basketball with gnomes. This is one army that everyone wants to join.
The acclaimed authors of When They Are Up do not take their soldiers too seriously, nor does artist Kirsti Anne Wakelin, whose colorful army looks like they just stepped out of a deck of playing cards. This fun and rhythmic tale will appeal to all listeners who like their verses bouncing and rollicking, with a huge dose of silly.
- Includes a page of the complete lyrics, accompanied by the music
The Grand old Duke of York has many soldiers eager to do his bidding. And in this romping tale they dutifully go up, down-and neither-up-nor-down-as ordered. But although these soldiers have obviously been trained to march, they have little discipline and no sense of decorum. No matter where they happen to be on the hill, they might decide to stop for a game of chess or tag...or even catch armadillos in bags. Other times they cheat at card games, then they play fair...sometimes they even wrestle grizzly bears, or dress up in silly suits, or play basketball with gnomes. This is one army that everyone wants to join.
The acclaimed authors of When They Are Up do not take their soldiers too seriously, nor does artist Kirsti Anne Wakelin, whose colorful army looks like they just stepped out of a deck of playing cards. This fun and rhythmic tale will appeal to all listeners who like their verses bouncing and rollicking, with a huge dose of silly.
- Includes a page of the complete lyrics, accompanied by the music
36 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 11, 2014
I unarchived my archived copy of WHEN THEY ARE UP... today to add it to the BML.
This book is, again, based on a simple pattern — in this case the nursery song, THE GRAND OLD DUKE OF YORK. The Duke's men aren't content to just be up when they are up and down when they are down; up and down they indulge in various sorts of silly behavior: "And when they were up they wear wigs, And when they are down they wear boots. And when they are only half way up, They dress in silly suits."
Kirsti Anne Wakelin's delightful paintings were inspired by the bold graphics displayed on the Kings, Queens and Knaves in a pack of playing cards. For her illustrator's photo, she submitted a painting of herself as the Queen of Spades (holding a pen, a pencil and drafting tools), and she graciously agreed to do playing card portraits for Maggee and I as well. Maggee is the Queen of Hearts (holding pencils)and I am the King of Hearts (holding a book, pencils and with a crossword grid pattern on my jacket).
This book is, again, based on a simple pattern — in this case the nursery song, THE GRAND OLD DUKE OF YORK. The Duke's men aren't content to just be up when they are up and down when they are down; up and down they indulge in various sorts of silly behavior: "And when they were up they wear wigs, And when they are down they wear boots. And when they are only half way up, They dress in silly suits."
Kirsti Anne Wakelin's delightful paintings were inspired by the bold graphics displayed on the Kings, Queens and Knaves in a pack of playing cards. For her illustrator's photo, she submitted a painting of herself as the Queen of Spades (holding a pen, a pencil and drafting tools), and she graciously agreed to do playing card portraits for Maggee and I as well. Maggee is the Queen of Hearts (holding pencils)and I am the King of Hearts (holding a book, pencils and with a crossword grid pattern on my jacket).
November 25, 2015
This is a crazy little book. Of course I love it.
I did know the nursery rhyme "The Grand Old Duke of York" well enough to sing the first verse. That is all I knew. I have NO idea if the completely ridiculous verses in this book were part of the original or not, and it really doesn't matter -- it was so much fun to sing them too.
And the illustrations are too perfect for words, but I'll try. They are playing cards brought to life, with an entire platoon of knaves (or Jacks).
I did know the nursery rhyme "The Grand Old Duke of York" well enough to sing the first verse. That is all I knew. I have NO idea if the completely ridiculous verses in this book were part of the original or not, and it really doesn't matter -- it was so much fun to sing them too.
And the illustrations are too perfect for words, but I'll try. They are playing cards brought to life, with an entire platoon of knaves (or Jacks).
March 13, 2012
When They Are Up offers a twist on the nursery rhyme about the Grand Old Duke of York.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews