Pass It On Book and Audio CD

by Marilyn Sadler

Paperback and audio CD

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy

Audio CD

First published April 24, 2012

About the author

With a degree in fine arts, Marilyn Sadler assumed she would be an illustrator. But when early in her career she was presented with an opportunity to write, she seized it and quickly discovered that she had found her true love. No sad, sappy stories for her, however. She likes to make herself laugh, and with that her characters usually end up looking pretty silly for one reason or another.

Her first children’s book featured a fastidious little English boy named Alistair Grittle and was originally created for the English publisher, Hamish Hamilton, as well as for Simon & Schuster in the United States. Having created a boy with such perfect behavior, she then turned her attention to a not so perfectly behaved little boy. His name was P.J. Funnybunny, and he has existed in a series of books for Random House, including the highly prestigious Dr. Seuss Cat In the Hat series.

Marilyn’s television credits include two PBS Reading Rainbow programs featuring Alistair, an Alistair program for the BBC, three ABC Weekend Specials featuring P.J. Funnybunny, and a show based on her children’s book, "Elizabeth and Larry", for Showtime’s Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories.

Between 1999 and 2004, The Disney Channel produced three Original Movies based on her book, "Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century". Each of Disney’s Zenon movies had exceptionally high ratings, with Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century and Zenon the Zequel among the highest rated shows in the history of The Disney Channel.

In 2004, Playhouse Disney began production on Marilyn and Roger Bollen's animated series, Handy Manny. Handy Manny premiered September 16, 2006, as the highest rated Playhouse Disney series premiere of all time. In 2009, Marilyn was nominated for an Emmy Award as Executive Producer of Handy Manny.

Reviews

[Dawn Little · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the telephone game as a child. This book is a variation of that game with farm animals. I liked how the animals came together at the end to help the cow, despite the miscommunication throughout the book. I could see using this book when discussing the importance of listening or paying attention to details.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Farm animals play a fun game of "Pass it on!" until the original message - The cow is stuck in the fence" becomes unrecognizable.

Michael Slack's jazzy illustrations make this a delight!

[Casandria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Things get mixed up when bee passes on a message about Cow.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars may be a bit much but this book made me smile right from the cover.
"The cow is stuck in the fence!" says the Bee, "Pass it on!!" The obvious miscommunications and hilarity ensue, but it's short, sweet and goofy fun.

[Burbank Library Children's Department · Rating 5 out of 5]

A silly, fun romp through a barnyard when cow gets stuck in a fence and the animals pass along the news in more and more elaborate and ridiculous ways! A funny, clever picture book to pair with Pssst! by Adam Rex.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this one was very silly (and a little dumb) but my toddler thought it was great. Rounding up since his opinion matters more. :)

[Elizabeth Sorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It all starts with Cow who’s stuck in a fence and asks his friend Bee for help. Bee goes to the farm and tells an animal the message Cow is stuck in the fence. PASS IT ON. With many animals on the farm and different interpretations of what has been heard, the original message gets scrambled, and thankfully Cow eventually gets dislodged! I chose this book because it looked like a fun read for young readers. It would be a good conversation started for what happens when we hear things from many people; like the game “telephone.” In a reading classroom, this story could be used to identify who is telling the story at different points in this story.

Genre: Fiction
Grade Level: K-5

[Audrey Arnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pass It On! by Marilyn Sadler and Michael Slack is a really fun story. This book is so fun and reminds me of when I was younger and would play telephone with my friends. I love that the animals were passing along messages, I think it is so cute and kids would find it so funny. I think the story is funny and simple. I enjoyed the illustrations a lot and thought that this book was full of color and variety. This book would be great to read with younger kids or kids that enjoy the game telephone. I really enjoyed this cute story and think kids would like it as well.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story reminds me of the book, The Cat Who Wore a Pot On Her Head, a classic from 1967 by Jan Slepian, as words are misheard and passed on, resulting in hilarious results.

Themes: animals, humor
Ages: toddler-1st grade
Pub year: 2012

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so much funnier than explaining the game of Telephone.

What a mixed-up message misadventure! The original message went:

"Cow is stuck in the fence.
PASS IT ON."

One of my favorite variations was by Pig:

"Cow's tent fell on a woodchuck.
PASS IT ON."

FIVE STARS for a lighthearted story about communication.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cow is stuck and looking for help. The message is passed from one animal friend to the next with silly results. It's like the classic game of telephone!

Reviewed from a library copy.

2017 storytime theme: Build a Better World - Fences

[Paige Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book I was more grabbed by the illustrations rather than the story behind it. It is a newer book, published in 2015, maybe that's why I wasn't too fond of it because it didn't bring back memories.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was humorous. A cow is stuck in a fence. A bee tries to help by telling others the messages, but it turns into a really bad game of telephone. But everyone still comes to see cow for various reasons, which is hilarious. I liked the illustrations, too.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horn Book (Fall 2012)

Cow is in trouble, and it's up to Bee to get the message to the other animals, but chain-reaction misunderstandings recalling the children's game telephone interfere ("Cow is stuck in the fence" becomes "Cow put a duck in the tent," etc.). The hoped-for twist never materializes, but the humor and up-tempo illustrations carry the story to its pleasant-enough conclusion.



Kirkus Reviews starred (May 15, 2012)

Sadler gives cockamamie treatment to this barnyard variant on the game of telephone. "Cow is stuck in the fence." Or was it "Cow and Hen had good luck"? No matter: "Pass it on!" Now it's "A good duck gave cow a penny." The game is one of those deeply amusing exposs of the corruption of information as it is passed along. Sadler's approach to the game is humorous and artful: She twists and fractures the words in delightful fashion, sometimes from what appears to be mishearing, sometimes from embroidery or exaggeration. The cumulative errors result in a fine and farcical ending. Without putting a heavy hand on the proceedings, Sadler illustrates just how inaccuracies in communication can lead to utter balderdash, as they might in gossip and rumormongering. Slack's accompanying artwork crackles with energy and color, and the barnyard creatures have a high degree of personality. Each instance of passing it on has at least two windows of activity, one depicting the act itself and the other what the corruption would look like. Though it is supposed to be a silent game--and here it is anything but that--this rendering of the childhood favorite captures the essence of its illuminating comedy. (Picture book. 4-8)



Library Media Connection (January/February 2013)

The old game of Telephone is inadvertently played across the farm. When Cow is stuck in the fence, it's up to Bee to organize a group to help-but the message Bee delivers is not quite the one that is received by the other animals. Bright, cartoony animals provide energy, and much of the dialogue is written in bubbles; the simple text will appeal to new readers, while younger children will simply enjoy the animal antics. What a fun choice for sharing with a group; just be prepared for whispered games and giggles! Susan A.M. Poulter, Cataloguing Librarian, Nashville (Tennessee) Public Library. RECOMMENDED



Publishers Weekly (April 16, 2012)

When Cow gets stuck in a fence, Bee springs into action: "Bee buzz-buzzed to Frog's pad and said: 'Cow is stuck in the fence. Pass it on!' " As the message travels, however, it gets mangled beyond recognition. "Cow has money. Pass it on!" shouts wide-eyed Kitten to Mouse, who's hanging out in the cupboard with the canned veggies and tuna. As befits the vintage nature of the game of telephone, Slack's (Monkey Truck) artwork conjures images of early Golden Books like The Little Red Hen and The Poky Little Puppy. Frog, sitting on a lavender mushroom playing with a yoyo, has appendages reminiscent of a 1950s atomic starburst design; bright blue Goose strums a guitar in a finale that has the animals celebrating Cow's eventual rescue with a milk-and- honey party in the barn. Sadler (the P.J. Funnybunny series) writes economically while maintaining a sense of both urgency and comedy, the latter surfacing in speech-bubble asides, as well as the catapult-to-the-butt that eventually frees Cow. Ages 4-up. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.



School Library Journal (August 1, 2012)

PreS-Gr 1-The game of telephone gets awkwardly rehashed in this appealing if unoriginal collaboration. Bee looks everywhere for Cow, who turns out to be stuck in the fence. To get help, he goes to Frog and tells him Cow's predicament, requesting that he "pass it on." Frog goes to Pig and says, "Cow put a duck in the tent. Pass it on!" Pig tells Goose an entirely different story, etc., until all the animals converge on the cow for various reasons, help push her out of the fence, and she and Bee reward everyone with milk and honey. The story is slight, but the minimal text reads aloud smoothly, albeit with a few superfluous uses of so-and-so "said." However, literal-minded youngsters may wonder why Bee didn't just request help from each animal directly, and the outrageous changes each creature makes strain credulity. The artwork is bright and modern-looking, with bug-eyed, cartoonish animals depicted in bold colors. Slack takes full advantage of the absurdity here by placing each animal's bizarre statement in a dialogue bubble. The simple text and large illustrations lend themselves well to reading aloud, and the word bubbles have the potential to encourage use by emergent readers. Unfortunately, the omission of whispering adds to the lack of internal logic. However, this would be useful in a classroom discussion of good listening skills and accurate message delivery. Fun, but additional.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

[Jodee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book good example of how words get misconstrued amongst a group. Just like the game telephone.

[Michelle Farella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good old fashioned telephone

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the timeless game of 'telephone,' a message gets all muddled in the barn yard.

[Liz Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same idea---Telephone by Mac Barnett

[Concetta Kellough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about how messages told from one person to the next can get mixed up. The kindergarteners at our school enjoy it.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would work for storytime.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silly pass-it-on story in which Cow is stuck and each animal passes on the news so that the message isn't at all what happened by the time it comes back. Funny illustrations.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 3.5 year old adored this. It was useful to discuss how perception can differ from reality.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has a good message about how things can get twisted.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny game of telephone. Not sure I love the message, but Luci (age 2) loved the animals.

[Lizee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to link to Learn Profile Communicator and the importance of being clear.

[Bern · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second page gave my son such a huge laugh that the rest of the book was chaotic toddler-giddiness.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious game of barnyard telephone. This one is lots of fun!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

a cute version of "telephone"

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty hilarious book about rumors.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Another selection from Blue Apple Books today. I think what I find so appealing about their books is that they have great covers and really great illustrators. There’s still plenty that depends on the writers, but I think Blue Apple is consistently releasing very visually appealing books.

Welcome to the farm, where all the animals know everything… sort of. When Cow gets stuck on the fence, she moos for help. Bee goes to find help, but the message gets a little jumbled along the way.

You know that game where someone starts at one end of a circle and whispers something in someone else’s ear, and the secret moves across the circle until the last person tells what they heard? It’s usually different because people are either not listening, or can’t hear well, or change it on purpose. Anyway, this is that game in book form. I think it would probably be fun for a small child. There’s not really much appeal for me though. Most of the time, I find picture books that are enjoyable to children, but also have a kind of wit an adult can appreciate. Pass It On! doesn’t really have that. Still, it will be a worthwhile read for the little ones.

Read more reviews at Owl Tell You About It.