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Summary
Summary
On a rainy morning, Mr. and Mrs. Submarine invite a cat, dog, coyote, wildebeest, Ludwig van Beethoven, the United States Marine Band, and others into their home to share their breakfast of tea and corn muffins.
Author Notes
Author, illustrator, and radio commentator Daniel M. Pinkwater was born in Memphis Tennessee on November 15, 1941. He is trained as an artist and attended Bard College. In 1969, he wrote and illustrated his first book, The Terrible Roar. Since then he has written over 50 books for children, young adults, and adults. He is also a commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered and regularly reviews children's books on Weekend Edition Saturday. While he has illustrated many of his works, his most recent ones have been illustrated by his wife Jill Pinkwater.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-All of the best Pinkwater characters are unflappable, and Mr. and Mrs. Submarine are true to form. This story of generosity run amok begins when Mrs. Submarine invites a wet cat into her cozy kitchen for a corn muffin. It is followed by a dog, then a horse, then a succession of progressively stranger guests, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven, the United States Marine Band, and a small European circus (Mrs. Submarine is afraid the circus won't fit in the kitchen, but lets them in when she finds out there are no elephants). The events are narrated in Daniel Pinkwater's typical deadpan, straightforward style. The bright pictures have clear colors and simple shapes to enhance the feeling of cheerful chaos. Like her husband, Jill Pinkwater has a knack for knowing what children find funny. The first view of the horse, for instance, shows him outside the kitchen window, looking back at readers, back end looming large. This Rainy Morning is anything but drab. It's full of color, good food, and the wonderfully peculiar mind-set this couple is known for.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
At first, this tale offers nothing but dismal weather and a polite couple, Mr. and Mrs. Submarine, breakfasting on corn muffins. Their cat bumps at the window and comes in from the rain, and their dog follows suit. Peculiarities arise when Mr. and Mrs. Submarine take pity on a wet horse, coax a shy coyote indoors and welcome 10 chickens, who sit "as far as they could get from the coyote." The ante climbs when Ludwig van Beethoven appears on the lawn ("`Oh, invite him in!' Mrs. Submarine said. `He is my favorite composer'"). Beethoven justifies the German phrase translations that appear on the copyright page, yet the musical legend doesn't treat his hosts to a performance, not even when the U.S. Marine Band arrives. Instead, the assembly just "ate corn muffins and drank tea in the warm cozy kitchen until the sun came out." Jill Pinkwater (Buffalo Brenda), who illustrates in noisy-bright felt-tip markers, uses medium-to-thick strokes to create flat images. This process allows for wildly colorful patterns but results in lumpy, ungraceful shapes. Especially in the crowd scenes, fine lines seem necessary; as it is, only a few of the chickens and crows fit in the jam-packed, visually muddy closing spread. Daniel Pinkwater (Doodle Flute) achieves sublime ridiculousness by showing the Submarines' limitless hospitality. Although a slapstick finale for this wet day seems in the offing, the author opts for dry wit: nothing happens, despite the volatile mix. Ages 5-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Mr. and Mrs. Submarine are eating breakfast one rainy morning when they invite first a cat, then a dog, and a horse in from the rain. Along with a few more rain-soaked animals, the Submarines bring in their car, a Marine marching band, a circus troupe, and none other than Ludwig van Beethoven himself. The escalating nonsense of the droll story is well captured in the bold and cheerful illustrations. From HORN BOOK Fall 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 3^-7. A husband-and-wife team tell a droll picture-book story about a husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Submarine, who open their cozy home to all kinds of creatures caught in the rain. Things start off small and predictable with the cat and the dog, who come in to get warm and dry and nibble Mrs. Submarine's freshly baked corn muffins; but then the elderly couple open the door to the horse ("Just this once"), four bedraggled crows, a wild coyote, and the chickens from across the street. By the end, the kitchen is packed with everything from a wildebeest to Ludwig van Beethoven (who expresses his appreciation in German), as well as the U.S. Marine Band and a circus (it's a small circus, no elephants). As in cumulative stories such as Bernard Waber's Bearsie Bear and the Surprise Sleepover Party (1997), the fun is in the repetition, the matter-of-fact tone, and the increasingly surprising visitors. The bright Magic Marker illustrations capture that funny, deadpan combination of the domestic and the outrageous together in the snugly kitchen. --Hazel Rochman