Skippyjon Jones in the Dog-House

The whole famly loves the skippjon jones books. They are hilarious and the narration is great!

These are awful, but, from a preschooler’s perspective, very addictive. We purchased a couple of the Skippyjon Jones stories just to try something new, and because the ratings were so high. My 4-year-old liked them immediately. (Actually, he found In the Doghouse pretty slow and the plot very difficult to follow – but loved “Lost in Spice.”) But there are many things about these books that _I_ really dislike. The gender role stereotyping is atrocious – Skippyjon goes on adventure after adventure, while his 3 sisters spend all of their time helping mama in the kitchen. The multiple fake/made-up Spanish words (mixed in with real Spanish words) made me cringe – but worse is the stereotypical portrayal of Mexico, and Mexican culture and people. (“Frito Bandito” type stereotyping.) Skippyjon is not Mexican – but he pretends to be, spending considerable time talking in a fake Spanish accent.

All of that is certainly reason enough not to get these books. But there is something I dislike even more: the interactions between Skippyjon and his mama. The disrespectful words and tone they (and Skippyjon in particular) use in speaking to each other have no place in a story intended for preschoolers. (Skippyjon screaming at her “You’re not the boss of me!” is the least of it.) Then, Skippyjon willfully engages in one forbidden behavior after another, completely disregarding anything his mother says.

I wish I’d done a more thorough job of previewing before my son was exposed to Skippyjon Jones. I really hate these books.

I thought it was too fast...

sort of...

too fast, couldnt make out

jus a tad bit disappointed

No, I would not try!

better audio could made this better

everything about Judy Schachner’s performance

good question, but I have no answer

No

I would most definately listen to skippy jon jones again because the way the author tells it and now that I have the book. My daughter can follow along too.

I liked the banditos. My daughter likes skippy jon jones.

Yes. Its a short story that you can listen to in a short amount of time. In a Dr. office, at the dentist, or waiting in a very long line.

This is a very cute book and I would recommend it to any one who has small children. Altho if you have the book..... It makes it much easier to follow along. :)

never read the printed version

skippy of course

first I was listening to Judy

laugh

Books like these are inspirational for my son. It was clean and fun to him

Yes, this was perfect for my son. He enjoyed it and even I enjoyed it.

Clifford

Perfect narrator for this Audio Book

No

Great for Kids

I loved the music and her voice.

The story came alive for my daughter with all the voices and music.

Her voice is exciting and fun.

I downloaded all the series for my 11 yr old daughter and enjoyed them myself as well!

Shachner's stories are wonderful. She is a great writer, but not necessarily a skilled narrator...at least not for children. She reads WAY too quickly. I can't even understand her or the chorus of Los Chimichangos most of the time. A children's narrator should know more about how to read to children. Speaking this quickly to children, who are just now learning the language, can lead to speech disfluencies, including stuttering.

I love Skippyjon's imagination. I think he works as a wonderful tool to get kids to use their imaginations.

Read too quickly to process the information. Sometimes you can't even understand her.

The adventures of Skippyjon Jones, the little
siamese with big ears who wants to be a chihuahua,
are wonderful books and this one is no exception.
My four and five year old kids want the stories repeated
over and over. The rhymes pull the kids in, the adventures
entertain and mom and dad are happy with the bilingual
education.