The Hungry Thing | written by Jan Slepian and Ann Seidler, illustrated by Richard E. Martin (1967)
worldcat | (out of print)
Summary
The Hungry Thing comes to town and asks for tickles and feetloaf and other interesting things to eat while the townspeople try to figure out what he means
Format
Picture Book
Age Range
4-8
Why I Love It
This book might be harder to track down (my copy is vintage, and has my brother’s name written on the inside cover!), but worth looking for. A Hungry Thing arrives in town and stumps the grown-ups with his request for “shmancakes.” Luckily there’s a kid around to set the record straight: the Hungry Thing wants pancakes. He gobbles them up but of course, that’s not enough! The Hungry Thing keeps the townspeople on their toes until his stomach is finally full. This is a fun, silly read-aloud. The muted illustrations (which appear to be watercolor and ink) depict a vaguely medieval village. The use of nonsense words encourages listeners to guess what the Hungry Thing is actually craving, just like the kid in the story. My oldest always doubles over in laughter when we read it. Get ready for requests for “gollipops” and “boop with a smacker.”