Teach Your Buffalo to Play Drums

by Audrey Vernick, Daniel Jennewein (Illustrator)

Overview

Does your buffalo pound on pots and pans?
Tap out rhythms at the dinner table?
It’s not as unusual as you might think.
He’s simply at the start of an exciting new journey.
A very loud musical journey that begins by teaching your buffalo to play drums.
(Did we mention it might be loud?)

From the author and illustrator of Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? comes this hilarious musical romp about encouraging your buffalo to find his inner rock star.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062184566
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/15/2011
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Audrey Vernick is the author of more than a dozen books for young readers, including Is Your Buffalo Ready For Kindergarten? and She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story. She is also the coauthor of the middle grade novels Two Naomis and Naomis Too. Audrey enjoys visiting schools to speak with young readers and writers. She lives with her family near the ocean in New Jersey. Visit her online at www.audreyvernick.com.

Daniel Jennewein is also the illustrator of Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? Although he does not have a buffalo, he does have two very bratty Birman cats named Emmy and Finn. Daniel lives in Frankfurt, Germany, with his wife, Lenore.

Editorial Reviews

If a buffalo can handle kindergarten, as proven in Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten?, why not a musical instrument? "He was born to play drums. You have to teach him now," declares the narrator, as Jennewein's crayon-traced buffalo hammers on pots and pans. With some yarn to tie the drumsticks to his hooves, lots of practice, and a soundproof room (preferably underground), there's nothing stopping a determined buffalo. "Some people think that being the loudest isn't the most important part of being a good bandmate," Vernick writes. "Your buffalo isn't one of those people." With the same brand of absurd comedy as its predecessor, it's as much a book about kids' proclivity for waffling between various interests as it is about the value of having earmuffs handy, "f the magic's not happening." Ages 4–8. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Several small pictures appear on most pages, surrounded by ample white space, showing the huge animal trying to engage in human activities like skateboarding and showering, resulting in some very funny scenarios. ” — School Library Journal

Praise for IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN?: “This story’s simple lesson about individuality is cleverly expressed through Vernick’s gentle wit and Jennewein’s crayon-outlined kindergartners—most of all, the furry and ungainly reader surrogate with whom kids will readily relate.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN?: “As an embodiment of school anxiety, this buffalo leads the herd-plus, he’s got a hump.” — Kirkus Reviews

Praise for IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN?: “Vernick’s amusing tale will prove handy as a first-day-of-school book recommendation for children and teachers alike.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 2—Vernick and Jennewein are known for giving advice to young buffalo owners, and in this follow-up to Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? (HarperCollins, 2010), the animal's owner is going to help him become a drummer, even if she has to tie the drumsticks to his hooves and build him a soundproof room in which to practice. The child applauds his early successes and encourages him to join the school band. The text asks questions that will help identify an interest in drum playing in buffalos. "Has your buffalo always loved music?" "How's his rhythm?" Several small pictures appear on most pages, surrounded by ample white space, showing the huge animal trying to engage in human activities like skateboarding and showering, resulting in some very funny scenarios. His expressions are priceless as he attempts to sit on a stool or hold drumsticks. By the end of the book, concerns about excess noise in the house and time management issues have been addressed and the creature is ready to begin his first concert, but not as a drummer as expected. It appears this buffalo has a short attention span, and a curiosity about juggling.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada

School Library Journal

Buffaloes are always funny, which makes them unlikely subjects for a self-help book.

When a buffalo hits a drum, the drum goes SCASH! It's such an endearing sound that the buffalo turns cross-eyed with glee. (Jennewein's soft-edged drawings of a goggle-eyed buffalo are hilarious.) Still, some people may be nervous about teaching their buffalo to play the drums, so Vernick has provided an instruction manual. Very reluctant buffaloes may need the drumsticks handed to them or even tied to their hooves with yarn. They may need cheering on. Some readers might suspect that this is a metaphor for child-rearing, and a few may even think the book is aimed at parents. The Electric Company had Paul the gorilla for comic relief. This book has a buffalo, a xylophone, juggling and heart-shaped sunglasses, and yet it still feels educational. Sample lines: "Don't let your buffalo get frustrated! Cheer him on! Encourage him!" At times, this instruction manual feels more like, well, an instruction manual than a gag.

Buffaloes may be funny, but they are not, it turns out, the most inspiring educators, and readers may long for a few more SCASHes and TATTA TAT TATs. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews