A Little Pigeon Toad

The King Who Rained

by Fred Gwynne

Humorous text and illustrations introduce a variety of homonyms and figures of speech.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Language, Childrens Classics

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Fred Gwynne was a well-known actor in addition to being a renowned children's author. Best known as Herman Munster from the sitcom The Munsters, Gwynne's books such as The King Who Rained and A Chocolate Moose for Dinner employed clever homonym wordplay for lighthearted humor that have delighted children for generations. Altogether, Gwynne published nine books over a long career.

Reviews

[*JEN the booknerd* · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very funny little book about homonyms. A little girl visualizes all the things her parents say in her own misunderstood interpretations. This book is outdated and I feel the majority of the sayings won't make sense to anyone under the age of 40. I enjoyed it in my childhood and it was great to re-read for nostalgia's sake. Also the author is Herman Munster! Well, Fred Gwynne was the actor who played Herman, cool! He also did all of the illustrations. He has a series of these books and they are all worth checking out if you like a little retro in your life.

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I DIDN'T KNOW HERMAN MUNSTER WROTE KID'S BOOKS!!!

Seriously, this book is beyond adorable. The illustrations are super creative, too. I love the imagination, and heart, and puns, and did I mention this was by Fred Gwynne?

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seeing this cover of the I had no idea what it was going to be about but I chose to give a chance and found to my delight it was about homonyms. Back in my own school days I had had a chance to read another homonym book that I really enjoyed but unfortunately this wasn't it although it was presented in the same format.

The reading is quite easy and one that children will enjoy although there may need to be some help on a few words. Basically each page mentions something that was said or over heard then it is followed by pictures that are just as wackily unreal as they can be but it can be reasonably seen as being right by those who are still learning to find the differences between similar sounding words.

Although the human characters weren't illustrated quite the right way and threw me off I did enjoy the rest of the illustrations which are presented in light colors.

All in all this is a great a book to use to start one in teaching children about homonyms whether at home or in the classroom. Just be sure you may still have some explaining to do.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this picture book are charming and clever. When reading it to a young audience, I could sense their curiosity wondering what the homophones really meant. The listeners were curious about phrases such as "man holes" and "slides." After a long think and Gwynne's delightful illustrations, they figured out the tricky homophones. This story was challenging for them, yet they found it very satisfying, especially after a second read! What a marvelous funny book, it's a joy to read to a captivated audience!

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book because it wasn't available in our library. This is the third book I read by Fred Gwynne today. Funny! It is very much like the other two-- taking the words in homonyms and getting them mixed up. Adults will get these more than children, but it makes a good teaching tool and the situations presented are ridiculous and clever.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

After having read a number of Fred Gwynne's picture books, this one felt too much like more of the same for me, and the charm was missing. Also, "Daddy says he pitched a tent." Uhhhh...THAT was an awkward moment with my 8-year-old!

[Mrs. Ruigrok · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are rather dated now but children will enjoy the play on words.

[Little Champs]

2807

[Gj Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun exploring the world of homonyms and puns, great illustrations

[Y.Poston]

fun exploration of English idioms

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story and pictures

[DaNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many giggles. My favorite - bridal (bridle) shower - leather and hardware raining down from above.

[Robert Shupe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a funny book about homonyms and how language can be confusing. Written and Illustrated by the great Fred Gwynne is just icing on the cake.

[Ashli Stroyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fun play on words, with the words meaning one thing and the picture depicting a totally different meaning of the words in the text. For example, one page says, “Daddy says tennis rackets should be taught…” with a picture of a teacher teaching tennis rackets that are sitting in desks, and another which says, “Daddy said he wants a pool table.” with a picture of a table with a pool inside it. With the text and the illustrations, it visually shows how the same word can have two extremely different meanings. It also shows how someone can misinterpret the meaning of a word that is heard or said. This book is not in story format, but has one sentence on each page, using a word that has multiple meanings. A teaching activity that could be done with this book is to have the class recognize the word that has two meanings and correct the sentence using the right word with the right spelling.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Little Pigeon Toad (1988), written and illustrated by Fred Gwynne, uses homophones to create amusing pictures. For example, the little girl who narrates says, "Mommy says there are naval oranges." The picture? A harbor filled with sailing oranges. A follow-up book to his The King Who Rained.

Themes: Homophones; Humor

Ways to use this book with children:
*This would be a great introduction to a discussion of homophones.
*Have students come up with silly pictures to illustrate some other homophones.

Additional Info:
Yes, this is the Fred Gwynne who played Herman Munster.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of silly puns/idioms, such as "Mommy says Daddy is a little pigeon toad." You may get a few laughs out of the little kids, because some of the pictures are rather silly. However, I would recommend this to older students that would be able to better understand the references in this book. This would be great for a lesson on idioms for older students.

[Haaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly book. Great teaching for homonyms for older kids. It made me chuckle. I babysit a two year old and a three year old and they thought the pictures were hilarious, even though they didn't understand.

[Joyce Himmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book on teaching homonyms to little ones. The illustrations are fabulous as we see how a child might picture in their head when daddy says there are three feet in the yard. I had no idea "Herman Munster" wrote such beautiful little books.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the play on words.

[Gretchen]

Fred Gwynne: Herman Munster to most of us, though.

[Anne Robertson]

Great for teaching older students homonyms. Younger students would not get it but very cute illustrations of common homonyms.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good example for multiple-meaning words (homonyms, homophones, homographs, etc.) just as Gwynne's other books are.

[Marj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations make this pun-filled book a lot of fun.

[emyrose8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

These idioms are a little less known as the ones in Chocolate Moose... still going to be a hit with the kiddos though!

[Linda (Miss Greedybooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by Herman Minster... Who Knew?

[Aaron]

A Little Pigeon Toad is a unique children's book about common phrases that might be confusing for kids. When people say pigeon toed or pitched a tent, kids may not immediately understand what they mean. This book does a good job of playing off of that in a cute and fun way.

I think this is a cute book and original idea. The illustrations help you realize the misconception that could occur with the phrases we often use.

I think kids would love this book because of the funny illustrations and phrases. It is a smart book full of funny word plays. This would be great for a read aloud or shared reading.