A Little Stuck

As some of you may know, our girls have gone to a wonderful play-based preschool here in our neighborhood. One of the only teacher-driven times in their day is storytime, which focuses on repeated readings of the same book throughout the week. One favorite book that both girls got to experience during their time at this school was Stuck, by Oliver Jeffers... So, what makes Stuck so loved in our house? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Stuck is just plain fun! Written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, Stuck is the story of Floyd and his kite that gets stuck in a tree. Floyd spends the rest of the day trying to get his kite out of the tree, but nothing he tries works... Kids and adults alike root for Floyd and his kite, and we laugh at the absurdity of some of the things Floyd tries. A few times in the book, you think Floyd has finally come to his senses, but, alas... rather than climb that ladder he borrowed from a neighbor, he tosses it at the kite, too! In the end, Floyd uses a saw to save the day, but Jeffers throws a brilliant twist in this resolution as well. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Silly story aside, Jeffers wonderfully draws children into the story! The opening page begins, "It all began..." so we know from the first three words that we're in for an adventure! Jeffers handwrote the narrative for the story, giving it an endearing and childlike voice. The illustrations range from simple vignettes to full-page spreads, and they're bright, colorful, and also laugh-inducing. Jeffers also uses small speech bubbles here and there that always make my girls giggle. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Though I tend to share books with strong social-emotional messages or lessons, we love books that make us laugh, too, and this hits the spot! Stuck is silly, over-the-top, and one that you and your kids will both enjoy reading over and over again. Stuck is also on my 90booksfor90days picture book summer reading list, so scroll back to check that out if you missed it! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you liked this, check out: * Escargot by Slater * Du Iz Tak? by Ellis * Interrupting Chicken by Stein * Elephant and Piggie books by Willems

I was ordering some books for use in my preschool classroom and Stuck came up as a book with good recommendations. I was spending off a gift certificate and after some research decided to order it on an impulse as a treat to myself. It is a nice quality book, simple matte illustrations, and aesthetically pleasing. The font is part cursive/ part print and is a bit difficult for my seven year old daughter to read which is unfortunate for motivated readers and my preschool students who might want to find familiar letters or words in the text. The story was cute and pretty imaginative- just missing a real hook to keep me laughing. It's the end of the school year so I no longer have classes full of children to read to, maybe I'll have a different opinion about this book after I have a receptive audience. I'll add to this review in the fall if this is the case, but as a teacher of 25 years this book doesn't live up to some of the other read-a-loud books that I work with on a regular basis. **Update After reading this book to groups of children from pre-k to third grade I have decided that this is a very funny read-out-loud book indeed. One class of students were inspired to create their own "Stuck" story and we ended up making a huge "Stuck" tree in our classroom and hanging drawings of our "Stuck" items from it. It's always a fun book to bring out with a new group, the laughing starts on the third page and just gets louder until the surprise ending! The font remained a bit of an issue for early reading preschoolers, it just wasn't similar enough for most of them to decode- but it wasn't generally an issue since the book is such a great group time read.

Jeffers' signature whimsical illustrations and clever storytelling combine to create a hilarious and heartwarming tale of a boy who gets his kite stuck in a tree... and the increasingly absurd items he throws up there in an attempt to dislodge it. 🪁🌳 Each new attempt is more outrageous than the last, leading to a laugh-out-loud climax that is as unexpected as it is satisfying. 📚💫

This is an excellent book. It might take you by surprise. Children love the book because it I humorous and they definitely pay attention. There are so many good talking points to this book. It’s great for teaching children about so many things, especially about asking for help before a problem becomes bigger than it really is. I teach 4 and 5 yr olds but my daughter teaches 2nd and she also loves this book for her class.

This book was recommended to me for my grandkids from my sister. It's about a kite that gets stuck in a tree, so the little boy throws his shoe up to knock down the kite, and the next thing you know there's a LOT of stuff in that tree! It's a fun read, lots of laughs, nice time spend with grands.

This book is hilarious. My 5 and 7 year old can't hear it often enough. Even their grandmother gets tickled pink when she reads it. The illustrations are so charming and fun. This book appeals to all ages. Oliver Jeffers is a real talent both in story telling and drawing. We love all of his books - as they are simple and fun but also deep and insightful. Do not hesitate to purchase this book for your home library or as gifts - I have given many away - almost always the receiver tells me they ended up buying more Oliver Jeffers books. They really are fantastic and will appeal to kids and adults!

There are so many things I want to draw and stick in a tree - what a fun story! Oliver Jeffers gave not only a good laugh, but a great creative brainstorming tool when he published this book. When I read this to a group of children, they leaned in so close I had to readjust seating several times, and promised they could all look at the book when I was finished reading it. They were wrapped up in the story and the silliness. It's made everyone laugh along. The ending is a surprise I won't ruin. I think Jeffers captures the way a child thinks in a flawed logic kind of way, yet repeats the same actions even though it only adds to the mess. What makes the book so charming is that there is no adult adjusting the logic or interfering with the actions, we all get to see what happens.

My 3 year old loved this library book so much, I decided to purchase it for our home. Such a cute read!