Hey, Little Ant

Will he, or won't he?

Not only a fun read . . .not just a discussion starter with your kids . . .but may also cause you to consider your own attitudes. Whimsical and delightful illustrations accompany the rhyming text.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A real cliffhanger.

This is a wonderful book. My 5 yr old son just loves it and it is one of those read it again, and again books. The ending will leave your child in real suspense. Will he squish the ant or won't he? Teaches a great lesson about the value of life without being the least bit preachy. Highly recommend.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Thst's what I call genious..

Till, when they come to the valley of the ants, one of the ants said" O, ants enter your dwellings, lest Suleiman and his hosts crush you, while they perceive not.( suret al-naml 18 - ants)

"In this verse, there is a clear evidence that ants have a language to understand one another and Allah gifted Suleiman with the ability to hear and understand these sounds. The scientists attempt to grasp these acoustic signals that ants utter. Yet, they distinguished four different kinds of these sounds after very long years of watching."

This is from 14 centuries. From the glorious Qura'an. It should be time for those who have doubts about Mohammad to question themselves...

Ants talk here:
http://home.olemiss.edu/~hickling/

More to read here:
http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archi...-in-the-quran/

And here:

http://knol.google.com/k/ahmed-abdo/ants-speak/1nf8rodgg6k5e/1#
__________

who is Dr. Maurice Bucaille..?

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

a reviewer

In this story, 'Hey Little Ant', by Phillip and Hannah Hoose, the boy really wants to squish the ant, but the ant really doesn't want the boy to squish him. So, the boy and the ant talk about if the ant should be squished. The ant says things to try and get the boys ideas about squishing him out of his mind, or until the bell rings. In the end, the recess bell rings and the author leaves us hanging. Did the ant get squished or not? We do not know. You should read this funny and scary story about families. All ages would like this book. It would make a good bed time story for everybody!

Changing Perspectives for Children

Kid: 'Hey, little ant . . . ./See my shoe, can you see that?/Well, now, it's gonna squish you flat!' This situation opens the book. The story then evolves into a dialogue between ant and kid to decide the ant's fate. The kid feels like he can do what he wants if the ant cannot talk back, but his ant can. The ant begs for his life. Then the kid argues that ants don't feel, and no one will miss him. The ant points out that he will be missed. The kid argues that ants steal from people, and the ant protests that they only take a little. The kid says that his friends expect him to squish the ant, and the ant asks the kid to exchange places in his mind. 'If you were me and I were you,/What would you want me to do?' The book ends with 'What do you think that kid should do?' This question is a nice set-up for a thoughtful discussion with your child. Unlike many books that proclaim the correct judgment, this one certainly suggests that the ant not be squished but leaves the question open. You can ask how your child's answer might change if other creatures are involved (a mosquito, a worm, a caterpillar, a butterfly, and so forth). The rhyming scheme in the book is also set to music in the back, so you can also play and sing the book together. Phillip Hoose is on the staff of the Nature Conservancy. His daughter and co-author, Hannah, was 9 when they wrote this book together. So another pleasure of changing perspectives here is to realize that parents and children can write books and songs together! The illustrations are very wonderful. In several sequences, the two page spreads are developed vertically rather than horizontally. Ms. Tilley does this very well to portray the giant kid looming over the ant, and later the imaginary giant ant dominating the kid. Each illustration has a sense of movement and presence that makes them seem to come off the page. The details are very rewarding, and will encourages your youngster to look closely. After reading this book, I suggest that you also talk about where parents and children should be more considerate of each other in what they ask and expect. The relative size differences there are important. You may be surprised to find that your children are a little more intimidated by you than you intended. If so, this book can have a wonderful application in your family . . . as well as in nature. By the way, I avoid hurting any living creature . . . so I found this book especially charming. See the world through the eyes of others and other creatures! Donald Mitchell, co-author of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The 2,000 Percent Solution

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.