Take a Hike, Miles and Spike!

PreS-Gr 2—Canine duo Miles and Spike take a hike, grabbing all the provisions they can get their "paws" on along the way, while shouting out smart-alecky rhymes to their animal acquaintances. "Stay loose, Moose!" is followed by "Smell you soon, Raccoon!" and even the more taunting "Buh-bye, Butterfly!" When their load of collected items becomes too heavy for them to carry on their own, their responses reverse to apologetic rhymes for their rude behavior. "We acted dumb, chum," and "Let's try again, then" is followed by a friendly invitation for the others to be included in their picnic festivities with a final shout of "Join the fun, everyone!" Foster and Long's hilariously pithy rhymes are perfectly paired with cheerful comic illustrations, both good enough to make a popular TV cartoon sitcom. Several of the phrases, including the book's catchy title, are popular idiomatic expressions. This just adds to the overall creative fun of the story, demonstrating to children that playing with words makes language that much more enjoyable. At the same time, the message that resonates at the end is that it pays to get along with others.