Search - I Can't, Said the Ant

ISBN 0590020498 - I can't seem to go used book shopping without tripping over copies of this book, so I'm quite surprised to read so many Amazon reviewers having difficulty finding it (not to mention that it's available ON Amazon, for a penny!).

A teapot falls to the floor of the kitchen and must be hoisted back onto the counter. All of the kitchen's inhabitants - from foods to pots and pans, even the trash - chime in, in rhyme, with advice and encouragement as, with assistance from other ants and some spiders, the storyteller saves the day.

Author and illustrator Polly Cameron's book continues, decades after it was written, to delight children and their parents. The rhyme is perfect and lodges in your mind for a long, long time ' "That's the ticket,' said the cricket. "What a show!" said the dough...' very hard to forget - and who would want to? This is a fun book, an easy read and an excellent way to introduce new words and the concept of rhyme to your young reader. The illustrations are a bit boring by today's standards; all red, much like those wood-block cutouts of old, or more modern stamps, but this is one book where the illustrations aren't even remotely important.

- AnnaLovesBooks

Book is in rhyme, with pictures in each line of text to help the child realize which object in the kitchen is saying what. Good example of personification.

"Teapot fell," said the dinner bell.
"Is she dead?" asked the bread
"Broke her spout," said the trout.
"Push her up," said the cup.
"I can't," said the ant.
"Please try," said the pie.

You'll have fun with this one.

One of my favorite books as a child. Reading now as an adult, I can't wait to share the same magic of the innocence of the book with younger readers.

Great way to teach your kid's about rhyming. The picture clues also help them with their reading plus makes it fun

From the Publisher
"Teapot fell," said the dinner bell.

"Is she dead?" asked the bread.

"Broke her spout," said the trout.

"Push her up," said the cup.

"I can't," said the ant.

"Please try," said the pie.

"You'll have fun," with this one.

I loved this book as a kid and my little girl loved it too!