The Hungry Thing

by Jan Slepian, Jan Slepian, Ann Seidler

What will the people do when a Hungry Thing comes to town? This hilarious book will get kids excited about reading and words as they fall in love with the Hungry Thing's crazy antics!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Animals, Classics, Food

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title and opening page of this book looked like it was going to be really creepy -- maybe even too creepy for little kids! But instead it was just stupid. I don't know if it was supposed to be funny (it wasn't) or educate kids about language (not sure how) but it was silly and boring. The text was so repetitive and uninteresting I started skimming, and given how short the book is that's saying something! Didn't get the point of this one at all.

[Alex Bright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and funny with many rhyming passages. The kids enjoyed it! Good for prediction and inference.

[Yvette · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my earliest book memories and one of my favorite childhood books. I was delighted by the cute monster, the medieval town, and the riddles/word play woven throughout the story as the townspeople try to guess what food the Hungry Thing is asking for in his nonsense language. A young boy figures it out - as well as a more efficient way to feed the Thing. The townspeople pull together, feed the Thing and send him on his way. (The story stayed with me as well as my original childhood copy - missing a cover; I just got The Hungry Thing as my (first) librarian tattoo for my 51st birthday!)

[Muse Here · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another darling kids' book. My kids liked how the Hungry Thing mis-pronounces everything and the made up descriptions of the funny named food by the supposed 'smart' people. I like how the little boy is the one who stands up and tells everyone what it really is. My kids enjoyed figuring out what the food was before the boy told us and making up their own descriptions for the fake food. Great book.

[Audrey Galiardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so old, but so good! I love reading this to the kids and saying words like schmancakes and gollipops and seeing their brains work to figure out what the Hungry Thing wants to eat. After the book I give the kids pictures of food they look at the food, hide it from the class and give us a rhyme ex:a picture of candy that they tell the class is schmandy. I use this is a quick way to assess if the kids know how to identify and produce rhymens.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite, most memorable books from childhood. I love this book and plan on reading it to my kids. Best Book Ever award winner!

[Lily Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid, my parents picked this up at a used book sale and it became a beloved favorite. It is still on my bookshelf to this day. Such a fun book with great word play!

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

well, that's just adorable

[Amy Seto · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hungry Thing is about a starving monster-thing, who looks like a cross between a dinosaur, a dragon, and a shark. I’ve never been quite clear on what the hungry thing is; just that he/she/it is very, very hungry. The hungry thing sits in the middle of town with a sign around its neck proclaiming “Feed Me” while the nervous townspeople ask it what it wants to eat. The townspeople have to figure out what the hungry thing is asking for. What could "Scmancakes" and "Feetloaf" mean?

Full Review Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hungry Thing was one of my favorite books when I was young. The rhyming words sound so funny and silly, but I think they helped me start to learn to read. I also learned that playing with words and sounds can be fun. Now that I'm older, I like to read this book to my nieces and nephews. I especially like to make the Hungry Thing's voice really deep when he says, "FEED ME!" My nephew loves it! :)

[Brenda]

Great book for word play. The Hungry Thing asks for things like Feetload and Gollipops. Students get to figure out what it is the Hungry Thing really wants to eat.

[Major Ramm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny!

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hungry Thing combines the humor of fantasy fiction with the educational whimsy of Sesame Street, with a big purple creature whose appetite can give Sesame's Cookie Monster a run for his food bill money! The Hungry Thing, THT, needs food from a nearby village and lots of it! He even has a Feed Me sign on his neck to prove he means business!!! But what he requests is in a rhyme, and the villagers have to guess, as do kid readers, what food he's talking about. Example: he asks for "shmancakes", it's really pancakes, and it's kinda hilarious when THT scarfs huge stacks of flapjacks down his gullet. After that, once you've figured out the game plan, guessing the other rhymes is a piece of flake, er, cake. By the end of the book, he's finally full, flips the sign around til it simply says Thank you, and toddles off, so the village can breathe freely again....until the next time, and yes there is a sequel! And yes, they'll have no manannas, ahem, bananas cos then THT will have got to em first!!! And how can you say no? THT is a harmless fun loving creature who's CUTE!!! And he's funny/hardcore! No moral lessons, because preachers will eat their words...or the Hungry Thing just might!!!!
Four stars
Hungry Thing totally rules!!!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for students who are struggling with decoding. Rhyming is an early skill that students with Dyslexia and other language-based learning difficulties struggle with. The wordplay in the Hungry Thing makes the rhyming more obvious and the connection to food makes the rhymes more relatable. This a great book to use with a classroom or on an individual basis in intervention with some great Hungry Thing activities on Teachers-Pay Teachers.

[Georgina Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cute monster book was another childhood favorite! The language is great for early readers between the ages of 3-7 and it will appeal to fans of Dr. Seuss books. A hungry thing comes to town and asks for different kinds of food, none of the people express any fear of this weird creature. He does have a big appetite, but he is also polite and says thank you after being fed, so he also helps readers to learn good manners. Fun wordplay!

[Mrs. Ruigrok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young children LOVE to rhyme and I think my own children would have loved this when they were little. They loved to make silly rhyming words and this book is the reverse...as a hungry creature tries to say what he wants to eat and the villagers all try to figure out what it means, while a young boy knows the answers. A fun read for sure!

[Mike N · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was little I absolutely loved "The Hungry Thing Returns"
I was thrilled to find my dad had read "The Hungry Thing" as a kid and still had his copy!
It was cool to read both with him and imagine what it was like for him to be a kid because at the time it felt like he was born a grown up! :p

[Jamie Hoerr-Lundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to my son each night. it's his favorite.

[Maegen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do wish it rhymed better.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elementary 1st on up for comprehension. It is a long picture book.

[Ashley Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about the simple wisdom of childhood when it comes to helping a stranger.

[K.C. Gardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book on word play is fun for one on one reading.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A large monster comes to town asking to be feed but can the townspeople figure out what food he is asking for? Elementary and up. Nice word play.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Officially approved by a five year old. She loves the ridiculous names that let her guess the correct answer. Also that a kid solves the problem. Too bad it’s out of print and hard to find.

[Thanhlong · Rating 5 out of 5]

hay

[Linda Heggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would make a great preschool activity where the students get to feed the monster the correct treats (speech and language) and draw what the silly ones could look like.

[Ramona Cantaragiu · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it did seem a bit too long, the word plays and the repetitions might keep the children interested. Not much else to say about this one, it is just about having fun with words about food.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread with kids at school: It's still super cute and hilarious. The kids loved it!

[Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

the drawings were really super cute!
but the book itself was REALLY repetitive.

[Brigid Sullivan]

This book is about a 'Hungry Thing' that wanders into a town, demanding to be fed. The Hungry Thing, however, gives strange food demands that the townspeople have to figure out. It takes a young boy to determine that the food the Hungry Thing is asking for RHYMES with real food (i.e gollipops- lollipops; tickles- pickles). Once they figure this out, they feed the Hungry Thing and he goes on his way.
This book has great pictures (picture book) and the students really relate to the very likable Hungry Thing. It is also a silly book so students have fun laughing at the made-up words and the reactions of the townspeople. The educational concepts in this book are rhyming and repetition. It also has a clear beginning (Hungry Thing arrives), middle (Hungry Thing eats) and end (Hungry Thing says Thank you and leaves). You could integrate this book when discussing characterization by discussing the characteristics of the Hungry Thing and the boy. You could also use it when discussing predictions (i.e what will happen to the Hungry Thing at the end? What will ask for next?)