Drummer Hoff -- Adapted by Barbara Emberley, illustrated by Ed Emberley

Drummer Hoff Adapted by Barbara Emberley, Illustrated by Ed Emberley


"...but Drummer Hoff fired it off."

This classic book, first published in 1967, and winner of the Caldecott Medal is one of my husband's favorites.  It is based on an old folk song which plots out, in rhyming verse, each member of an army putting together a cannon.  As each person adds a part of the cannon the stanza ends with, '...but Drummer Hoff fired it off.' The text is fun, simple and easy to memorize.  Kids will love being able to read this one with you or on their own. The wonderfully unique illustrations blend the look of old style wood cuts with the bright colorful psychedelic look of the sixties. My husband has read this book with my kids so many times that last week, while climbing over several cannons, they started reciting it word for word.

Drummer Hoff. Adapted by Barbara Emberley, Illustrated by Ed Emberley. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 1967.