Skippyjon Jones Class Action

Skippyjon Jones

by Judy Schachner

Skippyjon Jones really wants to go to school. School is for dogs, his mama tells him. It's where they go to get trained. But nothing can stop Skippy-once inside his closet, he finds himself on the playground of his imagination, surrounded by dogs of all kinds. He bays with the beagles, learns French with the poodles, and checks out a Chihuahua book from the library. And when a bully starts sending shiver-itos down the spines of the little yippers, Skippy saves the day and earns the biggest gold star.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, School, Fiction, Cats, Animals, Humor

Mass Market Paperback

First published July 12, 2011

About the author

Judith Byron "Judy" Schachner is an American children's writer and illustrator. Her works include the Skippyjon Jones series. Schachner lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Bob, and a dog and her two Siamese cats.

Reviews

[Stacia Leigh]

In this book our main character is referred to in many ways: Skippyjon Jones, nugget, kitty boy, hombre, Skippito Friskito, dude, Skippy, gatito, Mr. Whistle Whiskers, and Little Dipper.

Then there's the closet, the extra characters with strange names, throw in Spanish and French elements, mix with varying font types and sizes...

I was confused.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whuuuuuuuut. What HAPPENED? Not funny at ALL. And I don't even know what to say about the idea that the dogs go to school and the cats stay home to do the housework.

[Lynne Vanderveen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start off with stating that I really like the Skippyjon Jones books. It is a cute character, the illustrations are fun, and the word play and story lines are usually good. However, I didn't find that I liked this one as well as some others. The pages are very busy - overwhelming at times. Also, while I know that kids like rhyme, adding an O to things to create that rhyme was just annoying to me. I think children will still like the story and the character, but I don't want to be the one who has to read it to them. Disappointed in this one.

[Meg McGregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little kitty has crawled right into my heart and has a permanent resting place there. I love Skippyjon!

The illustrations are wry and whimsical, the text poetic and lively, and it just makes me happy reading this to my little ones!

Skippy is a Siamese Cat who thinks he is a mighty chihuahua. His imagination has no limits and he is just the cutest little thing.

I especially am happy that little ones, who hear this, will be given an introduction to Spanish, in a very pleasing and memorable way!

Speaking of happiness, there is lots of humor in this story and in the illustrations! Little ones will enjoy going over all the pictures again and again!

In this adventure, Skippyjon Jones wants to go to school like all the dogs do! On the bus, he finds out the school is being terrorized by the wooly bully; he vows to defeat this nemesis. Among the classes he takes are:

a. art where he drew his best ever doggie doodle.
b. music where he bayed like a beagle for the canine chorus.
c. library time where he realize4s that "Not even a bowl full of frijoles smelled as delicious as the scent of books waiting to be read!" I heartily agree!

Being a teacher and nanny for forty years, I had to laugh at the teacher's names. The art teacher's name is Mrs. Houndler; the music teacher is Mr. Muzzeltuff; the math teacher is Mrs. McDrooler, and the librarian is Mrs. Leonora Lappsitter.

I really have to admire Skippyjon's Mother! She is the model of patience.

[victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

chawala

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 2 out of 5]

"SUETER" AND "SUERTE" ARE NOT THE SAME THING! "PLATANO" AND "BANANA" (or "GUINEO") ARE NOT THE SAME THING! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!

[Ally Ramsey (MB)]

Text to Self Connection
In this book Skippyjon wanted to go to school with the dogs. However his mom told him he couldn't go. He used his imagination like he does in all the books to have a day at school with all the other dogs. I'm the third child born. So growing up I watched as my two older brothers went to school and I had to stay home. As much as I wanted to hop on the bus and see where they go everyday my mom would tell me that I am too young. So just like Skippyjon I would use my imagination and play school with my stuffed animals.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the first Skippyjon Jones book I read, which was the first Skippyjon Jones book. I didn't enjoy the second one I read, Skippyjon Jones: Lost in Spice, nearly as much. It seemed to be just exactly like the first with just a different theme. In some book series that's a good thing, but in this one it just wasn't as much fun the second time. Although I do have to say I haven't noticed any of the students in my library turning their nose up at a second Skipppyjon Jones book. They seem to enjoy their second as much as the first. So I figured they would like a third as well.

I wasn't planning to read this, but I'm glad I did! This one seemed to have a bit more to it - or maybe I just like the school theme more than spice. I especially loved the references to other children's books such as Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and The Cat in the Hat. Fun! And of course I always love it when any story characters spend time in a library. All the expected Skippyjon Jones wackiness is here are as well. I expect that this will be well-received in my library.

[kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Mrs. Reinhardt for this fun gift today! I have heard so much about these Skippyjon Jones books but had never picked one up until Mrs. R. so generously left one in my classroom this morning. Our comprehension strategy was to go back and reread if we didn't understand and this was the perfect book to practice with. It was a BLAST reading these spanish words and then using context clues to decipher meaning or backing up to reread to make sense of the crazy fun of the story. My 2nd graders loved this book! I can't wait to get my hands on the others.

[Jacque Sherbak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our Siamese Kitty Boy is fantasizing again... This time he dreams he goes to school with the other dogs; he imagines himself a chihuahua you see. He will confront the dreaded wooly bully. Probably the sweetest of his closet escapades and exposes the reader to more spanish than in the past. Loved it, the art is a hoot. Check out the earrings on the librarian and posters in the dog school hallways!

[Amberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this is the third Skippyjon Jones book I've read. I kept hoping I'd get what everyone else seems to love but I don't. I had a hard time even paying attention.

[Rebecca Dean · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was very hard to fallow. The words a are written in all differnt sized and styled fonts, which I think would be hard for a beginning reader to fallow and read all the way through.

[Balters' 3rd Grade Class · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y.T 5 stars

[Millie Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest Skippyjon books to read, especially if you find farts funny!

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Skippyjon books!

[The Transmuted Tree · Rating 1 out of 5]

Red 3rd

Never skimmed a children's book before. Also never been so annoyed by a children's book. Didn't feel like finishing it but pressed on b/c it's like 30 pgs total but got no satisfaction in getting thru it. Waaay too busy, every page is overload for me. The story itself was weird and all the "ito's" were annoying AF.

Aaaaand! As another reviewer pointed out, why are dogs the only ones going to school while cats stay behind in the home?

The art however was cute. I wish the story had been on par with the art; I would have loved this book.

p.s. Maybe it's the changing times, but as a white woman I didn't feel right putting on a Spanish accent à la the taco bell dog to read those parts. feels wrong in 2020 🤷🏼‍♀️

[R. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is by far one of the most confusing children's books I have ever read. It jumps from English to Spanish to French, to entirely made up words that extremely difficult to pronounce. The kids love it, but it's a confusing tongue twister of a story that makes no sense at all. Why are the dogs going to school while the cats stay home? Why is Skippy, the little Siamese kitten, so convinced he's a chihuahua just because his sister has covered her mirror in pictures of chihuahuas? If you want to be highly confused what words you're even attempting to read or why this would be the premise of any children's book, go enjoy. It is not one that I'll be volunteering to re-read any time soon.

[Rachel Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one wasn't a great winner with Bebe. I ordered it because my older kids used to love the Skippyjon books... But I guess that was a million years ago and he's his own person... So he wasn't in love. I thought the story was cute, but it was a struggle to keep him seated as I read (I don't like him to run around during reading time as he completely stops paying attention).

I was disappointed that most of the other books aren't in my library's collection but I guess it was a blessing in disguise since he's so uninterested. Too bad. Still 4 stars as I think it's cute. Might not be engaging for a 3 year old though.

[Ember Air · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for Banned Book Week 2019: 
This week is the first time I have ready anything Skippyjon Jones - I must say, I was expecting something like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, or Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (which I honestly didn't care too much for), but was pleasantly surprised! These books have a fun rhythm to the words, engaging artwork (the real chihuahuas in the mirror is always my favorite), and fun, imaginative and slightly silly stories. I LOVED the random references to other children's books too; what a fun game!

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skippyjon Jones is a very clever cat with a huge imagination. Often it thinks of itself as a dog, because seemingly dogs are free to have more fun. Wonderfully illustrated and with a good smattering of Spanish words, this is a fun book series. In this book, Skippyjon's closet door becomes the door to a school bus and he is off to school. Cats don't normally go to school because they are already smart, it is dogs who need the education. Now Skippyjon is the only cat at an all dog school.

[Victoria Irons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This exciting book tells an adventurous tale of Skippyjon Jones pretending to be a dog to go to school. This book has a lot of Spanish words in it and would be an excellent way to expose students to a new culture and new words as well as offer some familiarity for students who also speak Spanish. The book also could be used as a mentor text for a lesson on chosing vocabulary meaningfully in writing.

[Tania · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate this book with a burning passion. Not sure how it ended up in our family library, but every time my toddler wants me to read it I die a little inside. The layout sucks, the mixed font it horrible. Also the translations make no sense. Lots of Spanish grammatical errors.

Can’t wait to hide this from my toddler and throw it away. I usually don’t approve of throwing books away and prefer to donate them, but I don’t want to curse any other parents with this book.

[Christina (Confessions of a Book Addict) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just plain weird; in fact, this whole series is just bizarre. It's honestly one of the strangest children's books I have ever read and I've read a ton. But what is most annoying is that my son thinks they are hilarious and they are best sellers. So, obviously I am in the minority here.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a silly story about a Siamese cat that thinks he's a chihuahua. He wants to go to school with the other dogs, but his mother won't let him go. But he has a whole crazy adventure there with the rest of his canine gang. There are lots of Spanish and Spanish-like words throughout the story and so kids might get a giggle reading this one out loud.

[Peyton Griffin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an alright book. I wouldn't mind having it a part of my classroom library for SSR time, but I will probably not draw attention to the book itself. I think that students will enjoy the rhyming, crazing illustrations, and funny story, but I just do not see any real teachable material. Still a fun book though!

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skippy Jon Jones, a Siamese kitten, longs to go to school (obedience school with the dogs). While playing in his room he goes into his closet and imagines that he is at school and is the top scholar (at everything). CD included.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would make a great book to read to either Kinder's or First Grader's. Even better if you have a good singing voice which would enhance the story telling. The book also has beautiful and funny illustrations.

[Kristen Dutkiewicz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unsure where all these positive reviews came from... maybe it's okay for an older audience but I listened to it while with PreK and Kindergarten and they were NOT impressed.

Neither was I.

Too long and hard to follow.

[Carrie Buczynski · Rating 2 out of 5]

My kid loves Skippyjon and this one was no exception, but it has a weird anti-school theme which I don't want to encourage and overall the writing here is not as quality as in other entries in the series.

[｡ * . ☆ rainbow]

my first time reading this series, the kids loved it, i got tongue tied a lot...they added -ito to like every other word but i appreciate the spanglish it had !! i even did the clapping and tried to do the singing (i wasn't great but the kids clapped each time and were hyped). p cute though