A Squash and A Squeeze (HB) [Hardcover]

You may not think you need yet another version of the tale about someone realizing that her house is actually big enough to accommodate a whole slew of animals, after crowding them in - one by one - on the advice of a wise man (he looks as much like a vicar as a rabbi here). But this variant has two things to recommend it: Donaldson's merrily lilting text ("The little old lady cried, 'Stop, I implore!/It was cramp-y for three and it's teeny for four./Even the pig in the cupboard agrees/my house is a squash and a squeeze' "); and Scheffler's vigorously limned cartoon-style illustrations, explicating and elaborating the ludicrous events line by line. Where funds permit, a worthy addition. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

''a bit of a classic... A goat on the bed and a cow on the table tapping out a jig? My readers collapsed in heaps, and then had to have it read again. And again.'' Vivian French in the Guardian

''Wise old man, won't you help me, please? My house is a squash and squeeze.'' What can you do if your house is too small? The wise old man knows: bring in a flappy, scratchy, noisy crowd of farmyard animals. When you push them all out again, you'll be amazed at how big your house feels! This brilliantly funny story is the first ever picture book written and illustrated by the award-winning team of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, authors of The Gruffalo.

Julia Donaldson has had many books published and her work has been performed on programmes such as Playschool. She has also written for BBC radio and runs drama and music workshops for children. Axel Scheffler has had books published in over a dozen countries. His books for Macmillan have included The Bedtime Bear, the Smarties gold award-winning The Gruffalo and, most recently, The Smartest Giant In Town (ISBN: 0 333 961447). Born in Hamburg, he now lives in London.