Stick Man

by Julia Donaldson (Author)

Stick Man
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Stick Man lives in the family tree

With his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three.

But one day, Stick Man is carried off by a mischievous dog who wants to play fetch! Things go from bad to worse as Stick Man is carried farther and farther away from home. Lonely and lost, Stick Man desperately wants to get home to be with his family for Christmas. And when he helps Santa Claus out of a bind, he finds the perfect ticket home!

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Starred Review

Scheffler’s engaging illustrations, Donaldson’s irresistible rhyming text and repeated refrains make this a winning read-aloud that will stick around long after the holiday season. (Picture book. 2-7)

Copyright 2009 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Donaldson and Scheffler, the team behind "Room on the Broom" and "The Gruffalo", find a roundabout route to Christmas in this bouncy tale. Stick Man is just that, a brown stick with twig arms and branch legs. His story is delivered in perfect meter: Stick Man lives in the family tree/ With his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three. One spring day, Stick Man unwillingly joins a dog's game of fetch, is sent downstream by children and woven into a swan's nest. As the seasons change, Stick Man travels farther from home, futilely protesting (in vehement "Green Eggs and Ham" style), I'm not a mast for a silly old flag, / Or a sword for a knight... or a hook for a bag. In his darkest hour, he nearly becomes kindling, only to have Santa arrive down the chimney. Donaldson and Scheffler's poignant, suspenseful profile of an inanimate object recalls Laurie Keller or "The Velveteen Rabbit". Donaldson's rhymes never skip a beat, and Scheffler personalizes the many animals, people and settings in his witty watercolors. This yarn could become a December perennial. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly, Used with permission.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1 Stick Man is happy with his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three until a dog finds him and snatches him for a game of fetch. This is the beginning of a terrible journey during which, Odysseus-like, Stick Man tries to get back but is taken farther and farther away from his home as he is used over the months for everything from a boomerang to a snowman's arm. Readers will feel his anguish and cheer his eventual return (by Santa Claus no less, who rescues him from a fireplace on Christmas Eve) to his loving family. Bouncy, repetitive rhymes make this a good choice for storytime, and the saturated color illustrations carry well (although Stick Man does tend to blend, chameleonlike, into his surroundings). A slightly surreal holiday choice." Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Praise for Stick Man

*"Donaldson's rhymes never skip a beat, and Scheffler personalizes the many animals, people and settings in his witty watercolors. This yarn could become a December perennial." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[A] happy ending for all, and for all a good night." — Horn Book

Julia Donaldson

Julia Donaldson served as the UK Children's Laureate from 2011 to 2013 and has written many bestselling and beloved children's books, including The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, and Stick Man. She lives in West Sussex in the south of the UK.


Axel Scheffler's award-winning books include Room on the Broom, The Snail and the Whale, and The Gruffalo. His illustrations have been published in more than 30 countries. He lives in London, England.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780545947893
Lexile Measure
510
Guided Reading Level
N
Publisher
Arthur A. Levine Books
Publication date
September 27, 2016
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013000 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | General
JUV057000 - Juvenile Fiction | Stories in Verse (see also Poetry)
JUV017010 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Christmas & Advent
Library of Congress categories
Stories in rhyme
Christmas
Santa Claus
Twigs

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