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Judy Schachner's fascinating Siamese friend, Skippyjon Jones, fights off the bad guys and captures hearts.
Every generation has its superhero. First there was Superman, then Batman, Spider-Man, Captain Underpants, Spongebob Squarepants and, now, Skippyjon Jones. Currently, Judy Schachner’s feline-centered picture books stand at four. Each tells a tale of the mischievously curious Siamese kitty-boy Skippyjon Jones. His ears are too big for his head, which gives him a lopsided adorable look that Schachner captures in colorful illustrations. His lack of proportion also lets him see himself as not a cat but rather a Chihuahua. An Overactive Imagination Skippyjon Jones, like his audience, is filled with an insatiable curiosity and an overactive imagination. After his mother asks him to seriously reconsider his life as a cat, he chooses to imagine life as a sword fighting Chihuahua. With the help of his closet and his mind, he joins a group of Chihuahuas on several important missions: one, to chase off a giant bean-stealing bumblebee. In another he fights off the feared T-Mex dinosaur to save his amigos, the gang of Chihuahuas. His imagination is certainly as big as his ears. With playful singsong rhymes captured with illustrated music notes, Schachner provides an easy read-aloud for both readers and nonreaders. Repetition, in-text participation tags (clap, clap!), and a light-hearted choice of words abound. Active phrases draw young readers in, give them something to remember and something to call out while being read to. Spanish as a Second Language One thing that Schachner plays with but not enough is her use of the Spanish language. As a sword fighting Chihuahua, Skippyjon Jones discovers a wealth of adventures for himself, most of which involve a band of bandits that could be described as south of the border. Schachner does introduce the simplicity of the Spanish language to her young audience, but does she do enough? If the Spanish used was not a jumble of it and English, then yes, the slow, subtle introduction works. However, since she utilities “Spanglish” at times, her purpose gets lost in translation. It’s one thing to sprinkle Spanish through a text, letting its translation come intuitively, and it’s another to confuse it too much with English, or with a lesser form of both. But her use of Spanish in the pictures books doesn’t distract. It also doesn’t hinder the story. If anything, it makes the tales of this adventurous, unique kitten more enjoyable. It praises differences and self-identity. It teaches, it jokes, it entertains, which are all things superheroes have been doing for generations. Skippyjon Jones, Judy Schachner, Penguin Group, April 2005, 9780142404034 Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones, Judy Schachner, Penguin Group, October 2007, 9780525478843
The copyright of the article The Amazing Skippyjon Jones in Picture Books is owned by Sarah Reck. Permission to republish The Amazing Skippyjon Jones in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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