Sonderbooks

Sonderbooks Book Review of

Smashy Town

by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha

illustrated by Dan Yaccarino


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Smashy Town

by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha
illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Review posted September 19, 2021.
Harper, 2020. 28 pages.
Review written July 11, 2020, from a library book

The next time I do a Toddler Storytime – Alas, there’s no telling when that will be – I’m going to grab this book. It’s a book about demolishing buildings! Of course! Perfect for toddlers!

And the authors and illustrator pull it off superbly. It’s a short picture book with a refrain. For each of brick, wood, glass, and stone, we’ve got a spread that goes like this:

GO! Swing the ball, hit the wall!
Smash, smash, smash!
Swing the ball, hit the wall!
Crash, crash, crash!

Crumble, tumble,
down goes brick.
Is the demolition done?
NO!

Parents will be a little relieved that there’s even a spread about cleaning up the mess after everything is knocked down. And the endpapers show that what gets built in place of the old buildings that Mr. Gilly demolished is a public library and a city park.

This book is made to order for reading aloud to toddlers. I look forward to the day when I’ll get to try it out.