The Clock Struck One

August 24, 2009
Part of the Math Is Fun! series, this intro to telling time has a familiar beginning (“Hickory dickory dock,/ a mouse ran up the clock”), but things soon take a dramatic turn. When the clock strikes two, a farm cat awakens and pursues the mouse, and additional barnyard animals (as well as a family of farmers) join the chase each hour. Just when things have calmed down (“Hickory dickory dell,/ by midnight, all was well”), the clock strikes one once more, and it looks like the chase may begin again. A concluding note offers some time-telling basics. Ages 5–8.

September 1, 2009
PreS-Gr 2-A playful expansion of "Hickory, Dickory Dock," this picture book centers around the concept of a cat chasing a mouse through the hours of a day. "Hickory dickory doo, the grandfather clock struck TWO./It woke the cat, who sprang from his mat, /hungry for mouse-tail stew," and the race is on. Some of the rhyming verses are awkwardly constructed ("Hickory dickory date, /at EIGHT, they ran through the gate./The farmer's son/said, 'That looks fun./I'm coming too. So wait!'"). Expressive mixed-media illustrations display a gleeful mouse swinging on the clock chimes while a sleepy feline dozes on a nearby rug, and then highlight the ensuing chaos as other animals and people join the pursuit. The ending shows a very tired mouse and cat catching their breath as the clock strikes one in the morning. A thoughtful afterword offers a two-page explanation about the difference between digital and analog clocks and how to tell time, and challenges readers to find the various clocks featured in the illustrations (e.g., a cuckoo clock, a pocket watch, and a digital stove clock). Keith Baker's "Hickory Dickory Dock" (Harcourt, 2007) is a better constructed albeit calmer rendition of the nursery rhyme."Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2009
Grades K-2 From the Math Is Fun series, Harris picture book utilizes the Hickory Dickory Dock nursery rhyme as it takes kids on a chaotic cat-and-mouse chase from the hours of one to midnight.The animated romps peppy verse and colorful art capture the comical bedlam with flair. The progressive hours are both spelled out in the text and visually portrayed on diverse timepieces, from pocket watch to alarm clock. An extensive endnote explains basic information, including the difference between a.m. and p.m., and invites readers to search for clocks throughout the art. An entertaining addition to beginning time-telling lessons.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2010
Taking off from the "Hickory Dickory Dock" nursery rhyme, this book chronicles, hour by hour, an exhausting (and ever-expanding) cat-and-mouse chase. Colorful, action-filled spreads display the passing time on a cleverly incorporated analog or digital clock. Rhythmic stanzas move the story along at a good pace, making for a rollicking read-aloud introduction to time telling. An appendix discusses time in more detail.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)