Summary: It is based on the nursery rhyme "The Farmer in the Dell." It is a journey that the rat sets out on to answer the question of why does the cheese stand alone? As the rat progresses on his journey he picks up the cat, the dog, the child, the farmer's wife, and the farmer. Each one convinces the other to eat the cheese. In the end they decide to throw a party and get other food besides just eating cheese. The mouse is left alone with the cheese as the other characters go get other food. They all return and feast.
Critique: The book is humorous and solves the mystery of what happened to the hunk of cheese at the end of the nursery rhyme. The illustrations help depict the story. A major theme of the story is friendship. Each character gains a friend as the story continues.
Craft Element: This would be a great read aloud story. You could also play the song for the kids. This story would be good to teach sequencing.

I picked this book because it looked nice and fun. For this book, I would have students write about why it is important to have friends. ( )

This is the sort of story that can be appreciated by readers of any age. It's all based around the familiar song, The Farmer in the Dell, and what it does best is point out the absurdity of that old nursery rhyme. The class that I shared this with laughed the entire time. The repetition builds the momentum of the book. Like so many other stories that Margie Palatini has whipped up over the years, the wordsmithing is top of the line and the illustrations pair well with the general silliness of the text. Add it to your fractured faiy tale collection or your nursery rhyme collection, but don't miss out on the fun. This is worth your time. ( )

Summary:
A spin to the song "The Farmer in the Dell", it's a story about the rat, cat, dog, child, mother, and father, who all go to get the cheese, when they realize the song is silly, and there's no reason the cheese should stand alone.
Personal Reaction:
I think this book is so cute, and I've always loved the song "the Farmer in the Dell," and it is just a twist to the real song. The illustrations are wonderfully put together, and the colors are wonderful for children.
Classroom Extension:
1. I would read this book, and have the class learn the actually nursery rhyme, and have a sing-a-long to the song.
2. I would read this book during class snack time, and have them eat cheese and crackers.

Teaches concept of sharing. Great story and well crafted. The illustrations are amazing, too, incorporating words used in the story in the illustrations. 4 stars. ( )