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The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare
Deep inside the city was a hip and happy hare. He was zipping, sometimes lippy, takin' taxis everywhere. Way out in the country was a tortoise calm and cool. He was quite the mellow fellow chillin' out beside the pool. Kids will love to move and groove with this dynamic duo as they hop and pop towards the finish line in this hip-hopping retelling of the classic tale.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2011
1 person is currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Kristyn Crow
13 books43 followersKristyn Crow is the author of four children's picture books: COOL DADDY RAT (Putnam), BEDTIME AT THE SWAMP (HarperCollins, THE MIDDLE CHILD BLUES (Putnam, coming soon) and SKELETON CAT (Scholastic, coming soon). COOL DADDY RAT received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal. She is the mother of seven children, some with special needs, and Kristyn has written hundreds of blog articles on topics like autism, juvenile diabetes, and parenting. Some of these articles have been reprinted by national foundations. Kristyn loves to hear from parents, teachers, kids, and readers. Visit her website by clicking HERE, or visit her writing blog by clicking HERE.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 17, 2020
This book's genre is a picturebook and this book is intended for children of young ages. The city was a hip and happy hare. way out in the country was a tortoise calm and cool. He was quite the mellow fellow chillin' out. I rate this book a four out of five stars because I found the theme effective because it teaches to children and adults that patience is the key for everything. "slow and steady wins the races" is a quote from the book that represents that patience is important and being fast doesn't help things.
March 25, 2021
This rhyming book of the story we all know and love, the tortoise and the hare bump into each other and decide to duke it out like we know they do. If the hare was paying attention instead of singing and painting then he might have beat the tortoise, but not this time. Luckily, they don't hate each other and decide to swim together and have a few races in the pool. It's always good to have a modern book on an old fable of slow and steady wins the race. Great for the younger kids.
October 14, 2022
I love the rhyming in this book, super simple, fun, and easy to read. I think will be a good book to have in the classroom because of the small words and include onomatopoeia that will help a student learn to read better. It was a good book not too many changes between the real tortoise and the hare. But this book put on much more of a performance. I will defiantly have this book in my classroom along with more spin-off tales.
August 8, 2019
Wacky retelling of the classic fable, complete with groovy retro slang. The illustrations are funny and full of motion. I enjoyed that the turtle's shell is covered in peace signs!
September 30, 2019
I love this modern rendition of a classic tale. It would be excellent to read in a unit about rhyming.
July 30, 2020
Fun illustrations though the rhymes felt forced at times.
October 30, 2020
A modern version of the classic fable.
February 1, 2024
This was an okay adaptation of the tortoise and the hare. I liked the pictures, and I liked the tortoise. I did not like the hare. That's how it's supposed to be, right?
Want to read
October 13, 2015Title: italicize The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare
Author: Kristyn Crow
Illustrator: Christina Forshay
Genre: Fable
Theme(s): Determination, Humility, friendship
Opening line/sentence: Deep inside the city was a hip and happy hare.
Brief Book Summary: Not your original Tortoise and Hare story, this story is about a hip hare that bumps into a Tortoise as a fair, they decide to race to settle it. The cocky Hare is confident that he will win the race so he gets distracted during it, eating, painting even throwing a concert. The determined Tortoise keeps walking the whole time; once Hare realized that Tortoise has gotten ahead of him he sprints ahead only to lose to the Tortoise by a head. They then settled their argument and became friends from then on.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Publishers Weekly
In this jumped-up version of the fable, Hare is a hip city-dweller in shades and a tight jacket ("He was zippy, sometimes lippy,/ takin' taxis everywhere"), while Tortoise is a country bumpkin with peace signs all over his shell ("He was quite the mellow fellow/ chillin' out beside the pool"). When the two collide at a "happenin' county fair," they decide to race as part of the festivities. Forshay's (Frog and Pig) action-packed spreads depict dilly-dallying Hare as he paints a self-portrait and even performs a rock concert, dressed in Elvis-style threads. Golden hues and smudged outlines temper the animals' waxy veneer, while hallucinogenic moiré backgrounds amplify Hare's panic once he realizes that he's underestimated his competition. Despite some awkward phrasing ("Then he danced/ and he pranced/ till the crowd became entranced—/ as he rocked/ while he squawked/ making everybody shocked!"), Crow (Cool Daddy Rat) is mostly faithful to her metric rules. The lanky urbanite's bravado and the hoppy pace should insure that this retelling earns some read-aloud time. Ages 4�8. (Mar.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Children's Literature - Phyllis Kennemer
In this version of the popular fable, Hare lives in the city and takes taxis everywhere while Tortoise enjoys a relaxing country life complete with a swimming pool. When the two bump heads at the county fair, "They shuffled/and they snuffled/and the felt a little ruffled." As a result, the tortoise challenges the hare to a race. An audience of farm animals cheers them on. The hare has several costume changes as he runs, rests, eats, sketches, scribbles, and performs—first a tap dance, then an Elvis song. Tortoise does not don clothing, but has peace signs carved into his shell. When Tortoise wins the race by a nose, Hare is a bad loser. On the last page, the two are shown as buddies. The rhyming text apparently aims for a hip hop beat, but the rhythm is often rather rocky. Pre-reading before story time is recommended. The illustrations depict lively action and the personalities of the animals add delight. A fun choice when doing comparative studies of new adaptations of fables with traditional versions. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: A new fun and modern version of the Tortoise and the Hare. Both reviews mentioned that the intended hip-hop lyrics where a little rocky and could at sometime become confusing and awkward. Pre-reading was a recommendation mentioned before reading this book out loud to a classroom. However, the chill and peaceful version of the Tortoise and the hip city-dweller version of the hare give a new perspective and bring a modern reality into the lesson and theme of the story. The illustrations change based on the mood and reactions that the Hare and Tortoise display.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The pictures are painted and the brightness of the paint and size of the characters are related to the mood and drama portrayed in that particular scene. The story is told in short hip-hop phrases rather then a typical sentence structure. When sounds are displayed the words are curved on the page and some of the letters are larger or smaller in the word to show greater emphasis. The font is not consistent throughout the page, it changes or bolds based on the intensity of the section being told.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book can become a very interactive read out loud where the teacher can even sing or rap the words of the story. Students can also do a literacy lesson on the different versions of the fable the Tortoise and the Hare. That way they can view the different writing styles and literacy elements portrayed. Students can also act out this fable in a play and utilize the background characters as well and then have students switch out who is the tortoise or the hare based on their own personalities.
Author: Kristyn Crow
Illustrator: Christina Forshay
Genre: Fable
Theme(s): Determination, Humility, friendship
Opening line/sentence: Deep inside the city was a hip and happy hare.
Brief Book Summary: Not your original Tortoise and Hare story, this story is about a hip hare that bumps into a Tortoise as a fair, they decide to race to settle it. The cocky Hare is confident that he will win the race so he gets distracted during it, eating, painting even throwing a concert. The determined Tortoise keeps walking the whole time; once Hare realized that Tortoise has gotten ahead of him he sprints ahead only to lose to the Tortoise by a head. They then settled their argument and became friends from then on.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Publishers Weekly
In this jumped-up version of the fable, Hare is a hip city-dweller in shades and a tight jacket ("He was zippy, sometimes lippy,/ takin' taxis everywhere"), while Tortoise is a country bumpkin with peace signs all over his shell ("He was quite the mellow fellow/ chillin' out beside the pool"). When the two collide at a "happenin' county fair," they decide to race as part of the festivities. Forshay's (Frog and Pig) action-packed spreads depict dilly-dallying Hare as he paints a self-portrait and even performs a rock concert, dressed in Elvis-style threads. Golden hues and smudged outlines temper the animals' waxy veneer, while hallucinogenic moiré backgrounds amplify Hare's panic once he realizes that he's underestimated his competition. Despite some awkward phrasing ("Then he danced/ and he pranced/ till the crowd became entranced—/ as he rocked/ while he squawked/ making everybody shocked!"), Crow (Cool Daddy Rat) is mostly faithful to her metric rules. The lanky urbanite's bravado and the hoppy pace should insure that this retelling earns some read-aloud time. Ages 4�8. (Mar.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Children's Literature - Phyllis Kennemer
In this version of the popular fable, Hare lives in the city and takes taxis everywhere while Tortoise enjoys a relaxing country life complete with a swimming pool. When the two bump heads at the county fair, "They shuffled/and they snuffled/and the felt a little ruffled." As a result, the tortoise challenges the hare to a race. An audience of farm animals cheers them on. The hare has several costume changes as he runs, rests, eats, sketches, scribbles, and performs—first a tap dance, then an Elvis song. Tortoise does not don clothing, but has peace signs carved into his shell. When Tortoise wins the race by a nose, Hare is a bad loser. On the last page, the two are shown as buddies. The rhyming text apparently aims for a hip hop beat, but the rhythm is often rather rocky. Pre-reading before story time is recommended. The illustrations depict lively action and the personalities of the animals add delight. A fun choice when doing comparative studies of new adaptations of fables with traditional versions. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: A new fun and modern version of the Tortoise and the Hare. Both reviews mentioned that the intended hip-hop lyrics where a little rocky and could at sometime become confusing and awkward. Pre-reading was a recommendation mentioned before reading this book out loud to a classroom. However, the chill and peaceful version of the Tortoise and the hip city-dweller version of the hare give a new perspective and bring a modern reality into the lesson and theme of the story. The illustrations change based on the mood and reactions that the Hare and Tortoise display.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The pictures are painted and the brightness of the paint and size of the characters are related to the mood and drama portrayed in that particular scene. The story is told in short hip-hop phrases rather then a typical sentence structure. When sounds are displayed the words are curved on the page and some of the letters are larger or smaller in the word to show greater emphasis. The font is not consistent throughout the page, it changes or bolds based on the intensity of the section being told.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book can become a very interactive read out loud where the teacher can even sing or rap the words of the story. Students can also do a literacy lesson on the different versions of the fable the Tortoise and the Hare. That way they can view the different writing styles and literacy elements portrayed. Students can also act out this fable in a play and utilize the background characters as well and then have students switch out who is the tortoise or the hare based on their own personalities.
February 24, 2017
Cute. Some of those who read aloud will have trouble with the words & rhythm, but slow down and it'll be ok. Not sure how I feel about the hare being an urban go-getter and the tortoise being a country bumpkin, but if the shoe fits.... I do like the epilogue in which we learn that the two become friends.
August 15, 2011
In this retold version of the classic race between the Tortoise and the Hare, the hare is just too cool for words, described as being "zippy, sometimes lippy" (unpaginated) while the tortoise is more laid back, described as "quite the mellow fellow chillin' out beside the pool" (unpaginated). When the two bump into each other at a fair, the tortoise challenges the hare, and the race is on. Of course, the hare races out front and is sure to win the race until he gets sidetracked by a snack or two and a concert he gives to his fans. The steady tortoise has just kept right on chugging along, and when the hare realizes he needs to get back in the race, it's too late. The groovy element and cooler than cool persona of the hare give this tale a modern, fresh spin, and the colorful illustrations are sure to make readers smile. In a visual tribute to Twilight fans, there are even onlookers with pennants sporting "Team Hare" and "Team Tortoise." Although this one would require a bit of practice before reading aloud, it certainly contains wonderful phrases such as "vroomed and zoomed" that sound exactly like their actions.
February 15, 2012
This is a modern version of the classic story the tortoise and the hare. I chose this book for my Caldecott nominations because of the way the illustrator was able to depict the current trend and technology in the pictures. The rabbit was dressed in modern clothes, parking his car, and talking on a cell phone. Children can relate to these pictures because they see the same things in their daily life.
While the writing was not wonderful, it did have rhyming that could be incorporated into the lesson. However, sometimes the words seemed forced, like the author was trying to hard. For example "Hare giggled and he wiggled and he laughed so hard he jiggled".
While the writing was not wonderful, it did have rhyming that could be incorporated into the lesson. However, sometimes the words seemed forced, like the author was trying to hard. For example "Hare giggled and he wiggled and he laughed so hard he jiggled".
September 3, 2011
In this modern update of the classic, "The Tortoise and the Hare", the rabbit is a cool city dude, and the tortoise (who sports peace signs on his shell) lives a laid-back country life. When the two literally run into each other at the county fair, the race is on. Filled with playful word choices and rhyming verbs, this book has a lot to offer as a mentor text for writing.
September 11, 2011
So, wow! I was impressed! I was expecting a middling retelling of the classic fable, perhaps featuring animals in quirky outfits. Based on the title, I thought everyone was going to be decked out in tie dye or something ridiculous, but I LOVE that the hare is a total hipster. The rhythm of the book is pretty darn fantastic too.
October 7, 2014
This book was a great spin on the tortoise and the hair. I would definitely use this as picture books for older readers. This is a great way to show the retelling of a classic book, and I could use this in the classroom to show how stories can be retold. I could also use this for predicting and inferring with readers.
April 20, 2011
The "groovy" in the title made me think this was going to be a 60s-70s era retelling, but unless you count the peace signs on the tortoise's shell, it is a general contemporary setting. A straighforward retelling of the story, with a rhyming text.
September 8, 2011
Kristyn’s rhymes are infectious with her trademark musical words. Written by a local author, I love her other books, including Cool Daddy Rat. While the illustrations were great, it was really her words that made the book for me. Definitely on the “to-buy and get signed” list.
April 19, 2016
Fun, modern retelling of Tortoise and the Hare. The illustrations are great...I especially love the illustration of Hare giving a concert. The fun rhyming text make this fun to read aloud. (Also contains a fair amount of onomatopoeia...so could be used to teach that literary device.)
February 11, 2011
Outta sight, man ;-)
February 27, 2011
I liked the illustrations and in some ways this was a fun interpretation of the traditional Tortoise and the Hare story but the sing-song verse would possibly present a challenge to reading it aloud.
April 9, 2011
Delightful book. Very funny illustrations. (The turtle's flip-flops are a riot!)
May 16, 2011
Fun re-telling of a classic.
July 31, 2011
A fun re-telling of the Aesop fable. This version would make a great storytime version with it's rhyming, limited text, and amusing graphics.
August 25, 2011
Can b faired with the true story of three little pig..
November 3, 2011
cute retelling of the tortoise and the hare. I'm impressed with all the rhyming to tell the story and the kids really enjoyed it.
November 14, 2011
The hare was lippy? Really? They lost me on the first page...
March 28, 2012
Ehh. It was fine. Another overly cute fractured fairytale.
May 25, 2012
Cute concept for a retelling but just doesn't flow well for reading. Especially reading aloud.
October 31, 2012
I fun rhythmic twist on an old story. This author came to our story time today and she was great. I love the rhyme and rhythm she has in her books!
January 29, 2013
Ultra - modern retelling of the classic (it will definitely look outdated in a few years) - pretty darn fun.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews