I Am Hungry

by Michael Rosen, Robert Starling (Illustrator)

Overview

When you’re hungry—really hungry—what exactly could you eat? From the delicious to the daffy, Michael Rosen’s rhyming read-aloud offers a tasting menu for the silliest toddler connoisseurs among us.

Look out! This squirrel is hungry. So hungry, it could eat . . . everything! Just how hungry is this squirrel? He could eat boiled rice, chocolate mice, a gingerbread man . . . even a frying pan! Is there anything he won’t eat? In a laugh-out-loud ride of imagination and hilarity, Michael Rosen’s charming rhymes and Robert Starling’s vibrant, bold illustrations capture the absurdity and occasional outlandishness of toddler moods. Based on the popular poem from Michael Rosen’s collection A Great Big Cuddle: Poems for the Very Young, I Am Hungry will satisfy the read-aloud appetites of parents and children alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536225105
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	07/11/2023
Series:	I Am
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.13(w) x 10.56(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Michael Rosen is a poet and the author of many books for children, including We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, which won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize; A Great Big Cuddle; and Michael Rosen’s Sad Book. He received the Eleanor Farjeon Award for services to children’s literature in 1997 and served as Children’s Laureate in the UK from 2007 to 2009. Michael Rosen lives in London.

Robert Starling is the creator of many books for children, including Fergal Is Fuming!, which was short-listed for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and other books in the Fergal series. He is also the illustrator of I Am Angry by Michael Rosen. Robert Starling lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

Starling’s cartoon illustrations are silly and wonderful as usual—the little squirrel is an endearing hero, whether making off with ice cream cones, climbing a ladder to nibble on “a bit of the moon,” or darting off with a piece of fried fish while a flock of ravenous sea gulls follows.
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2023-04-24
This little squirrel is hungry enough to eat a….

The feeder is empty. The yard seems barren, too. The squirrel says, “I’m so hungry I’ll…eat a warm roll, popcorn in a bowl, one plate of steamed rice, two chocolate mice….” This ravenous rodent could eat cheese or peas. Very soon, the squirrel’s imagination runs away with them—the protagonist dreams of eating a fleeing “gingerbread man, a frying pan, a nasty fright, a dark and stormy night.” In the end, the squirrel seems to have found one last peanut from the feeder to satisfy their hunger. Prolific author Rosen reteams with artist Starling for the follow-up to I Am Angry (2021). Instead of a furious, adorable kitten, the child stand-in is an earnest red squirrel. The author’s “Note to Grown-Ups” lets readers know that the squirrel is playing a game and using their imagination. Even so, the conclusion may perplex some. This one isn’t entirely a miss for Rosen, but it isn’t as amazing as many of his others. However, Starling’s cartoon illustrations are silly and wonderful as usual—the little squirrel is an endearing hero, whether making off with ice cream cones, climbing a ladder to nibble on “a bit of the moon,” or darting off with a piece of fried fish while a flock of ravenous sea gulls follows. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A peculiar poem about being peckish. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews