Rating: 
Summary: wonderfully silly for any age!
Review: I have read Squids Will be Squids as well as the other books written by Mr. Scieszka to my Third Grade students. They enjoyed hearing my reading of this that they all clamored to see who could get a copy of this book first! This is a Wonderful, wonderful book to read over and over!
Rating: 
Summary: Nice!
Review: I love this book although I think The Stinky Cheese Man is a way better book. Beautiful, fun illustrations and a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: a clever twist on fables
Review: I read this book to my 5th grade class. They fell in love with immediately (especially "Straw and Match"). This is appropriate for the independent as well as emergant reader. It's a wonderful addition to any collection.
Rating:
Summary: Kids love this book....
Review: I'm writing this on behalf of my granddaughters ages 6, 8, 10, and 12. I'm no expert on children's books, but rather read what parents, grandparents, and teachers report about the various books, and try to make purchases based on this information. I especially like the feedback from Amazon.com readers and wanted to pay back all the kind advice I've read.My grandaughters report they love this book. When the Amazon.com box containing "Squids Will Be Squids..." arrived, I am told the girls squabbled over whose book it would be (I like to let them choose from oldest to youngest). My 10-year old grand-daughter Amelia has a wry sense of humor, and she especially appreciated the 'Fresh Morals' and recommends them.
Rating: 
Summary: It Is What It Is
Review: In children's literature, the main character usually is the cover subject and title such as "Charlotte's Web," "Froggy Plays Soccer," and even "Harry Potter," because the targeted audience is assumed not to be sophisticated enough to interpret indirect meanings. Then there is the trio of Jon, Lane and Molly, who, like Maurice Sendak, love to thumb their noses at convention. "Squids Will Be Squids," (a play on "it is what it is," perhaps?) is not about the ocean life of squids - it is a collection of wacky stories with morals. Apparently young readers were sophisticated enough to figure that out using the cover art and cheeky tone as their guide. The five and nine-year old I read this book with laughed with abandon even if they didn't always get the inside jokes behind the stories or the morals. Bathroom humor like "He who smelt it dealt it," was a big hit as was "It takes one to know one." I wasn't crazy about this work but I did love the title, and its exhuberant, devil-may-care attitude and the numerous double entendres. The layout and design are extraordinary. There's plenty in here to entertain little and big readers. This is not a read alone book, though. The power in this work comes in sharing the experience. Otherwise I think it will fall flat. The moral to this review of "Squids will be Squids: Fresh Morals Beastly Fables" is "Never judge a book by its cover."
Rating:
Summary: Silly, wacky fun!
Review: Jon Scieszka has shifted from parodying Mother Goose to poking fun at Aesop and his fables. After an introduction to Aesop, Scieszka explains that this book contains fables that Aesop might have written "if he were alive today and sitting in the back of class daydreaming and goofing around instead of paying attention and correcting his homework like he was supposed to." Lane Smith's illustrations add to the absurdity of the fables with wonderfully distorted facial expressions that turn animals and inanimate objects into oddly shaped humans. The characters in these fables are not the familiar hare, fox, lion, and mouse. Instead we meet new characters like elephant, ant, skunk, grasshopper, frog and of course, squid. The morals range from the obvious (Don't ever listen to a talking bug; Don't play with matches) to the familiar (He who smelt it dealt it; It takes one to know one) to the hilarious (You should always tell the truth, but if your mom is out having the hair taken off her lip, you might want to forget a few of the details). Not all of the fables work as well as they could, but there is enough humor in the rest of the fables to delight both children and adults. I found this book hilariously funny. It's one of my personal favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrific - but not for children under 8...
Review: Just a note of caution- this book looked great to me, so I sent it to my five-year-old neice. While the stories were cute, the "morals" weren't really morals and it kind of sent the wrong message. The book would be better suited to a higher age group so that they "got" the irony and subtleties of the stories. Wonderful illustrations and great text - just a little too mature for 4-8 year olds.
Rating: 
Summary: Ode to an awesome irreverent book and authors
Review: Mr. Scieszka and Lane have done it again! Do not refrain this book NOW obtain. Yeah morals insane you may have to explain. Doubled in pain you may clog up the drain. Bit rough on the brain but you read 'em again. Some may complain and have to abstain. Maybe they have a sprain or not quite enough whole grain. But I'd take a A train from Spring St. to Spain. To toast these two pains with a mag' of Champagne! My 5.5 yr. old and I (38)(ex-teacher) love this book!!! We've read everything by these guys except for one or two and that's just because we lost touch a little in those crazy toddler years. Beefsnackstick and Straw and Matches?! What concise morals to everyday situations. Long live the Swee-pals! and irreverent library dwellers everywhere! Keep Writing!
Rating:
Summary: Title is the funniest thing about this Book
Review: My child is 4.5, maybe this book is amusing to an older child. But I think "amusing" is about all the book is. I was very disappointed because I was essentially bored by the books "morals" after only a few pages. Don't think I even have managed to read through the book, short as it is, or even to read all the morals over time -- there just isn't enough entertainment for the effort. The attraction might be the artwork and aggressive use of mixed typeface. But the humor is relatively lame often. I keep thinking that this book is a classic "appeals to critics" but fails to deliver educational or entertainment value. In sum, the "idea" of the book (offbeat "morals" collection) is way better than the execution.
Rating:
Summary: Funny
Review: My seven-year-old and I really enjoy this one. The stories are funny and the drawings are crazy. Some of the morals don't fit the story too well, but that's not a bad thing, because I ask him what the "real" moral is, and we can discuss the ethical questions.
| 
