Agapanthus Hum and the Eyeglasses

by Joy Cowley, Jennifer Plecas (Illustrator), Leslie Bellair (Read by)

Overview

Agapanthus Hum is a whirlwind. She hums, she cartwheels, and she is always running around. Now that Agapanthus has eyeglasses, her parents want her to be careful. Agapanthus tries to slow down; she even wears a bag on her head so her glasses won't get lost, but more often then not, her glasses go flying. What do grown-up acrobats do with their eyeglasses? Agapanthus's parents bring her to a performance so that she can find out.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698157392
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/16/2013
Series:	Penguin Young Readers Level 3 Series
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	61 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

One of the most beloved writers of her time, Joy Cowley is one of the first authors a child-reader discovers. Famous originally for Mrs. Wishy Washy, Agapanthus Hum has stolen Joy's heart, and ours.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Agapanthus Hum, the altogether winning heroine of Cowley's (Mrs. Wishy Washy) spunky chapter book, has an exuberance befitting her name: "she was called Hum because she was such a whizzer, humming and whizzing like a button on a string." Her rushing, twirling and cartwheeling, however, sometimes results in minor accidents and often spells trouble for her eyeglasses, which fall off and get bent and twisted. Though they warn her to be cautious, Agapanthus's parents encourage their daughter's acrobatics and also treat her to a trip to the circus, where Agapanthus is in awe of the trapeze artist ("I am going to do that," she announces). Cowley's tale features playful language, characters that have their quirks yet stay believable, and a fun-to-read pace that is sure to keep beginning readers entertained as well as a bit challenged. Plecas (Rattlebone Rock) plays up the text's sweet-natured humor with her springy-limbed heroine, who indeed looks as if she can barely contain her energy; and with the introduction of a busy little dog, a constant companion that is Agapanthus's equal when it comes to childlike glee. Ages 5-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. —This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 3-The text of this beginning chapter book races along just like its main character. Agapanthus Hum is a bundle of energy with "...tunes inside her, tunes for running and whirling, tunes for dancing in the wind...." Because she is always "humming and whizzing" and tumbling with acrobatic abandon, accidents often happen and her glasses swing, slip, and drop, and are constantly in need of repair. When her understanding (and comically exaggerated) parents, "good little Mommy" and "good little Daddy," take her to a show, they discover how a real gymnast saves her glasses. Unlike many books for newly independent readers, Cowley's word choices provide readers with interesting images-"tunes that bubbled toothpaste and gurgled lemonade," "her hum puffed out like a birthday candle," "beads went everywhere, like blue hailstones," etc. Plecas's illustrations extend the humor and reinforce the seven-chapter text. There is at least one Agapanthus Hum in every classroom and that child is waiting for this delightful book.-Gale W. Sherman, Pocatello Public Library, ID

School Library Journal

Agapanthus Hum is always in motion, a packet of energy who also happens to wear glasses, which cause her no end of trouble. When she smothers her parents—called good little Daddy and good little Mommy—with kisses, her glasses come off and swing from one ear. When doing a handstand, the glasses drop off entirely and get crushed when Agapanthus crashes down upon them: "Her hum puffed out like a birthday candle, and her head went quiet," but only briefly. Her parents are sweet and kind and utterly forgiving (absurdly so, as Cowley makes clear) and mention that she is one fine acrobat all the same. The ultimate solution is for good little Mommy to hold Agapanthus's glasses during practice. When Agapanthus attends an acrobat show and learns that at least one professional acrobat who wears glasses gives them to her mother when she performs, one little girl's fate is sealed. This story is just like Agapanthus, full of beans, song, and heart; she's so disarming in both text and Plecas's comic illustrations that readers will hope for an encore. (Picture book. 5-8) .

Kirkus Reviews

Agapanthus Hum, the altogether winning heroine of Cowley's (Mrs. Wishy Washy) spunky chapter book, has an exuberance befitting her name: "she was called Hum because she was such a whizzer, humming and whizzing like a button on a string." Her rushing, twirling and cartwheeling, however, sometimes results in minor accidents and often spells trouble for her eyeglasses, which fall off and get bent and twisted. Though they warn her to be cautious, Agapanthus's parents encourage their daughter's acrobatics and also treat her to a trip to the circus, where Agapanthus is in awe of the trapeze artist ("I am going to do that," she announces). Cowley's tale features playful language, characters that have their quirks yet stay believable, and a fun-to-read pace that is sure to keep beginning readers entertained as well as a bit challenged. Plecas (Rattlebone Rock) plays up the text's sweet-natured humor with her springy-limbed heroine, who indeed looks as if she can barely contain her energy; and with the introduction of a busy little dog, a constant companion that is Agapanthus's equal when it comes to childlike glee. Ages 5-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Agapanthus looks at the world from different points of view, and her favorites include a twirling one and an upside down one. As she gyrates and hums from one activity to the next, Agapanthus’s glasses invariably come out the worse for wear. Thanks to her Good Little Mommy and Daddy and a dazzling performer in the acrobat show, Agapanthus resolves her love of activity with eyeglass wearing. Christina Moore’s narration exudes Agapanthus’s excitement and conviction to be just like “the lady in the white tights.” Earnestly Moore shares Agapanthus’s experiments at keeping her glasses safe. Graciously, and a bit exasperatedly, she shares the parents’ efforts to keep Agapanthus on an even keel. A.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

JUN/JUL 01 - AudioFile