Snip Snap!: What's That?

This book is fabulous.I'd rank it right up there with Go Away Big Green Monster for the two-year-old set - it's THAT good.It's that good because the author does an extraordinarily good job in building anticipation. It starts out deliciously. "When the alligator came creeping, creeping, creeping up the stairs, were the children scared?"Okay, at this point, my two-year-old daughter was already hooked. Alligators? Creeping up the stairs? It was just the perfect amount of scariness - a little bit scary, but not too scary. Then Mara Bergman not only hooked my daughter, she gets her to participate. She asks, "Were the children scared?" Then my daughter answers in a refrain that is surprisingly fun to shout out. "You bet they were!"This is repeated throughout the book. In page after page, the alligator keeps on getting closer. In page after page, the author keeps on asking if the children were scared, and the reader keeps on shouting out, "You bet they were!" This repetition is fabulous for two-year olds, until finally, the alligator is so close, it could be jumping off the page. My daughter loves to take this opportunity to scream with joy.But there are no victims in this book. No, the kids finally "pluck up their courage and give a great shout!" "Alligator you get out!"As far as the artwork, the art is cute. Given the topic, I think that is great - I wouldn't want the artwork to be too realistic or disturbing.All in all, this book stands out for a home library or a classroom read-aloud. It's fabulous for ages 2-6.

Use this book in my preschool classroom. Children love this story.

My 3-year old and I got this book out at the library. She loved reading it (and I loved reading it to her) so much that I am making sure to buy a copy for ourselves.Starting with the illustrations... I asked my daughter... "Uh oh...what happened here?" (someone left the door open), and then as the alligator goes creeping into the house the question is reiterated..."and were the children scared?" To which my daughter would shout..."YOU BET THEY WERE!" While it could be just a tale about a scary alligator (!), it's really about being empowered and not playing the victim, a lesson that could be used in a variety of situations-- the children "have enough" at the end and they must up their courage and shout.... "Alligator, You Get Out!" (And was the alligator scared?) My daughter LOVED shouting the answer, every time.You know when you love a children's book, when you don't secretly groan and roll your eyes when you child asks for it... and this is one we love.

My 5 year old loves this book. I read it to his classmates in small groups at school, and they adored it and begged me to read it again. It is cute, not too scary, but let's them think it's about something scary. The illustrations are clever. The repetition in the story encouraged my young friends to read along with me; everytime I read, "Were the children scared?" they "read" along with me, "YOU BET THEY WERE!" My 5 year old still loves to shout that one out as we read it. I cannot fully describe how engaged all my son's classmates were. Their eyes were wide, their smiles were big, they leaned forward and inched closer and closer to me until they were nearly in my lap. Big hit! Recommend for ages 4-7.

This is a great, suspenseful book about three children trapped in an apartment with an alligator. And were the children scared?YOU BET THEY WERE!Of course, there's a happy ending, when they finally stand up to the alligator and chase him away before he can eat them.This is great fun to read, with the frequent breaks to yell "YOU BET THEY WERE!" at the top of your lungs, and the opportunities to ham it up with those sound-words. I suppose it might be a little scary for some children, as there is the constant threat of death by alligator, but....

My kids ADORE this book (ages 3 and 4)! It's one of our absolute favorites! They know all the words and I catch them reading it to each other while the listener pretends to be terrified. They love to squeal when the alligator comes closer... and closer... and closer... Highly recommend for any kid ages 3-5 and maybe even beyond!

I searched our public library for a preschool age book for Dental Health. The librarian suggested this book due to it being a GREAT read aloud and LOTS of teeth! I went with it and the kids were totally engaged. I purchased this book off Amazon to donate it to the school for the Birthday Book club and the teacher said they have been reading it everyday due to it being a CLASS favorite! (BTW - it has nothing to do with Dental Health - you create the connections while reading aloud!)

This book is so much fun to read aloud to my 16 month old daughter. In it the author creates a scenario in which an alligator is creeping closer and closer to where the children are hiding in the apartment asking again and again "Were the children scared? You BET they were!" In the end the children overcome their fear and the alligator runs scurrying away. The rhythm of this book combined with the beautiful photos and funny story make it a blast to read at story time.