This Is the House That Jack Built Book

Traditional stories are supposed to engage readers. The predictable, repetitive chant in this story found me almost singing along out-loud with each page. As you continue through the story, you'll see that the text gets smaller the more frequently you read the passage. The author assumes that by the end of the book, you can predict that "that lay in the house that Jack built" will end the page. This chanting a truly remarkable element of a well-written children's book. My favorite part about these chants is watching a young child repeat the words with you and feel the confidence that they too can read along with you.
As I sang the text of this book, I sang to the tune of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." This was a book that I preformed a play to in preschool. To this day, I can recite most of the story word-for-word and I can still see some of the pages in my head. At the conclusion of the story, I read that the author of "This is the House that Jack Built" is also the author of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." No wonder I enjoyed the book so much!
The bright illustrations of this book were also fabulously engaging. The additional comments in small print were hysterical! I found myself bringing to book closer and squinting to read the warnings on the rat poison box, labels of meat placed on the illustration of the cow, or the letter written to Jack by the farmer.