Monday, June 30, 2008

The Hungry Thing

The Hungry Thing
Jan Slepian & Ann Seidler ~ Richard E. Martin ~ Follett, 1967


Sometimes I've thought it might be nice to go through life sitting there with a giant sign around my neck that reads FEED ME. Ha!

never owned this one as a kid, but I have a vague memory of the giant beast with his gaping mouth and bottomless stomach. My paperback copy now is a 50 cent estate sale find (scored with a couple of first edition Richard Scarry Busytown hardbacks!), and has since gone into high rotation around these parts. When a mysterious creature comes to town armed only with a sign and an appetite, the townspeople have some trouble figuring out just what it is this beast is hungry for.

"He's underfed. Have some bread,"
Said a lady dressed in red.

"It seems to me he'd like some tea,"
Said a fellow up a tree.

"A bit of rice might be nice,"
said a baby sucking ice.

The Hungry Thing just shook his head
and pointed to the sign that said Feed Me.

The townspeople tried again.
"What would you like to eat?" asked the townspeople.

"Feetloaf," answered the Hungry Thing.

"Feetloaf!" cried the townspeople.
"How do you eat it? What can it be?"


All the wise men in the village can't answer that question, and of course, it's the town's tiniest tot who comes to the rescue. As I imagine it is with all children, my son loves it when the little guy comes out on top. I love it when a book asks you to not judge a monster by its cover. That said, I think I'll go cook up some shmancakes for the boy... with gollipops and hookies for dessert. Yum!

Also by:
Ding-Dong, Bing-Bong

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a question for you -- how do you keep these old books from falling apart? Maybe you've posted about this, I'll have to look back through (I'm new to your blog as of a couple of weeks ago.) We just got some great vintage books but they are about to fall apart and, of course, they are the ones my daughter wants to read every night! Love the blog, keep up the good work. :)

Rochelle R. said...

My goodness. I have this book and I sure didn't know it was worth anything. Lucky you got it for 50 cents. The kids at my preschool always enjoyed it.

Burgin Streetman said...

For the most part, I steer clear from buying books that are falling apart and buy ones that are still in pretty good shape. And his really old fragile ones, I keep out of reach and only bring out occasionally... plus, I am not a snob about such things... if ever a book he likes a lot gets too loved, I bring out the the clear packing tape.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the advice, I'll get out our packing tape! These books were hand-me-downs and I would rather have my babes enjoying them instead of me worrying about trying to protect something that is about to fall apart anyway.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe this. I have been searching for the title of this book for YEARS. Lots of internet searches and asking childrens librarians and with no luck. I came across your blog completely by random (searching for Garth Williams illustrations).

Burgin Streetman said...

that is awesome randy. i love it when that happens! they had another book... my son didn't like it much... i sold it in my shop last week.... in case you are interested in tracking it down..

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11433375

gophertortoise said...

Oh, we had this one too (book sale!), and I loved how it made all manner of children laugh and laugh, but its pages were like tissue paper and it self-destructed. Sad. :(

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