Scieszka – Squids will be Squids

Scieszka, Jon, & Lane Smith. Squids will be Squids: Fresh Morals, Beastly Fables. New York: Viking, 1998.

Squids will be Squids is picture book of 18 fables “that Aesop might have told if he were alive today and sitting in the back of class daydreaming and goofing around instead of paying attention and correcting his homework like he was supposed to.” Each one is a silly little story – mostly about animals – that end with a more or less silly moral. The fables include such classics as “He Who…” in which Skunk, Musk Ox & Cabbage pursue an inquiry into the origins of a strange smell, & “Termite, Ant & Echidna,” in which friends are chosen poorly. Most of the morals take up a single two-page spread, cleverly illustrated in Lane Smith’s distinctive style. The book begins & ends with a brief biography of Aesop himself.

“He who Smelt it Dealt it,” “Don’t ever Listen to a Talking Bug,” & “It takes one to know one,” are the kind of life-long lessons that I myself hope to instill in the hearts of youth. As such, I found Squids will be Squids to be a delightful book – clearly deserving of its place in the Scieszka/ Smith canon. Smith’s illustrations are excellent & fit with Scieszka’s fables like “Eggs & Toast.” While many of the morals are just plain silly, some of them manage to sneak a real message into their subtext; such as in the first fable, “Grasshopper Logic.” While the listed moral of “There are plenty of things to say to calm a hopping mad Grasshopper mom. ‘I don’t know’ is not one of them,” is valuable enough in itself, the more subtle warnings concerning the dangers of procrastination still shine through. All in all, a great picture book for older children & especially for boys – the book has a high-enough gross factor to keep most kids’ attention.

A 1998 BookPage Review describes the book in some detail, and its place alongside Scieszka & Smith’s other works, but most striking is the reviewer’s recognition that Scieszka “trusts the intelligence of kids. He understands that most of them want to read something as entertaining and smart as what they see in other media, and he writes with that in his mind.” [1] On the other hand, a Booklist Review criticizes the book’s design & layout.[2] The reviewer says of Smith’s illustrations that they fail to “sparkle, and they don’t extend the text,” and that the vary-sized typeface “isn’t very attractive and seems to serve little purpose.” However, it may say something that many of Lane Smith’s books since Squids employ these very same techniques, despite this reviewer’s critique.

Squids will be Squids is an excellent book to read to older school groups visiting the library; from 3^rd grade on through Middle School. It’s fun & light, with great pictures. It could also be used as a silly addition to any collection of Aesop’s fables readings – to help keep the kids’ attention. I actually plan on using it in a few weeks for a 6^th grade class visit; they want a reading so I’ll give them a few silly fables. Maybe I’ll throw in a bit of Scieszka’s Stinky Cheese Man , Science Verse or Math Curse as well.

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[1] “Squids will be Squids.” BookPage Reviews. November 1998. as found in Baker & Taylor’s Title Source 3. http://ts3c.informata.com/TS3/record.jsp?rn=4&ps=5&fr=0&anc=4&bs=1&fb=0&n=E%3A%5Cwebapp%5Cts3%5Cmain%5Cusers%5Cls002903.rec&FirstRec=Y (accessed 16 Feb. 2010).

[2] “Squids will be Squids.” Booklist Reviews. September 1998., no. 2. as found in Baker & Taylor’s Title Source 3. http://ts3c.informata.com/TS3/record.jsp?rn=4&ps=5&fr=0&anc=4&bs=1&fb=0&n=E%3A%5Cwebapp%5Cts3%5Cmain%5Cusers%5Cls002903.rec&FirstRec=Y (accessed 16 Feb. 2010).